Foxheart
by Skyrocket
Summary: AU. A Keitaro/Kitsune story. Could the Hinata House's loser landlord and resident party girl ever get together? Maybe, but they're in for a rocky road full of angst and hijinks first.
1. New Year, New Path

****

Foxheart

By

Skyrocket

Life is full of infinite possibilities. Nothing is truly impossible. Every choice we make is like a pebble cast into a stream. Each pebble slightly alters the flow of the stream in ways human eyes rarely ever see.

This idea is certainly true when it comes to affairs of the heart. A stolen glance, a harsh word, a smile, an impure though or a small act of kindness; any of these things, if they should occur at a crucial moment, can make or break the love between two people. Such a fragile thing is love.

For an example of this let us turn our eyes to Keitaro Urashima. This somewhat unremarkable young man has found himself as the manager of the Hinata House, an all-girls dormitory. If one were to think that placing a clumsy and naïve, albeit goodhearted, fellow in a place where he could live with five very attractive young women that romantic hijinks would ensue, then you'd be right. The majority of said hijinks involving a girl by the name of Naru Narusegawa.

It is a strange bond indeed that unites Keitaro and Naru. Promises made to beloved ones in their youth and the dream of attending the prestigious Tokyo University drive both of them. Though the relationship between them is a tumultuous one, there is also an undercurrent of attraction. A feeling Keitaro is more willing to admit to than Naru. 

Now let us drop a pebble into this stream. A pebble by the name of Mitsune "Kitsune" Konno, also a Hinata resident and Naru's best friend since her high school days. Free-spirited, fun loving, uninhibited and a natural-born instigator with a penchant for sake, Kitsune is about as fine an example of a pebble as one could ever hope for.

Now that the pebble has been cast let us see where destiny flows.

~*~

January 1, New Year's Day

Hinata City, Japan

In Japan it is the tradition on New Year's Day to visit a local temple to pray for good fortune in the new year. Considering that if he didn't get into Tokyo U this year it would mean facing a third year as a ronin, Keitaro Urashima figured a little divine assistance couldn't hurt. As he stood before the front of the shrine he prayed to any deity that would listen for their aid.

"Please, help a poor ronin out!" prayed Keitaro. "If I don't get into Tokyo U I'll never be able to reunite with the girl from my promise. Plus, the girls from the house, especially Shinobu, will be disappointed in me!"

After he felt he'd sufficiently petitioned the gods for their help, Keitaro turned back to his other main reason for coming to the temple. Nearby at one of the temple's other buildings were the girls of the Hinata House. 

Keitaro had originally planned to spend this day, as he did most days, studying to get into Tokyo U. But a little prodding from Kitsune and the promise of seeing the girls in traditional New Year's kimonos had convinced him that taking a break from studying might not be so bad. Motoko had already left for the temple by that time but the sight of Kitsune, Su and Shinobu wearing kimonos had pretty much made up for that.

As lovely as those three had looked it was the possibility of seeing Naru in traditional dress that made Keitaro's heart skip a beat. Sadly, just as Keitaro was daydreaming about that image Naru had shown up wearing a normal skirt, a worn orange sweatshirt she was particularly fond of, and the very thick glasses she sometimes wore while studying. Keitaro had been unable to hide his disappointment. 

Naru had then proceeded to remind him on how important it was that they study and that they couldn't waste all day at the festival. She intended to only go to the celebration for a short time and then return home for some studying.

Pushing his disappointment aside Keitaro headed down the temple steps to meet up with the girls. 

Motoko had volunteered to work at the shrine selling fortunes to visitors and now the other girls had gone over to where she stood get their fortunes. As he headed down the stairs Keitaro glanced at each of the girls.

He was slightly surprised to see that Matoko was giving small but genuine smiles to her customers. She'd also swapped the kendo training uniform she usually wore for a shrine maiden's outfit. _Motoko is certainly something of a traditional girl_, thought Keitaro. _I guess I shouldn't be surprised that she'd enjoy something like this. It's shame she doesn't smile more often._

Not far from Motoko, Su, Naru, Kitsune and Shinobu were examining the fortunes they'd just bought. 

"Wow, mine say I'm going to have the best luck!" cheered Su.

"I got medium luck," said Naru, sounding fairly satisfied. When one was aiming for Tokyo U a little luck was always welcome. 

"I got best luck too!" grinned Kitsune. "Now that's the way to start off the new year."

"I only got a little luck," reported Shinobu, who felt a bit let down.

"I wonder if this means lucky in cards or lucky in love," mused Su.

"Hope that it's lucky in cards," advised Kitsune. "You've got a better chance of winning at cards than you do at love. Trust me, I know."

Shinobu was about to reply to the older girl's comment when she caught site of Keitaro approaching. Shinobu, having just turned thirteen, was experiencing her first crush with Keitaro as the unknowing recipient of her feelings. Though terribly nervous when dealing with these feelings, Shinobu was doing the best she could. The idea of getting to enjoy herself with him at the New Year's festival was part of the reason she'd come today. Since everyone seemed to enjoy getting their fortunes told the young girl plucked up her courage and called out to Keitaro.

"Sempai! Why don't you come and get your fortune too?"

"I was just coming to do that," replied Keitaro. "Thanks though, Shinobu."

Outwardly Shinobu blushed a bit and just nodded. Inwardly she beamed.

As Keitaro approached where she was selling fortunes Motoko frowned. Keitaro completely failed to notice this as he dug some money out from his pocket. "All right, Motoko, I hope you've got a lucky one left for me."

"Urashima, I feel it only fair to warn that the fortunes from this shrine have long had a reputation for coming true," said Motoko. "If you were to draw ill luck it would be most unfortunate for you."

"Oh, come on, Motoko," dismissed Keitaro with a wave of his hand. "I don't really believe in that superstitious stuff. Drawing fortunes like this is just meant for fun."

"Very well," shrugged Motoko as she handed Keitaro a slip of folded paper with a fortune written inside. "On your own head be it."

Keitaro felt a bit unnerved by the younger girl's attitude but tried to push such thoughts from his mind as he opened his fortune.

****

Strange Luck

__

This will be an unusual year for you.

A new path will present itself.

Tread carefully for this path will lead you to either great happiness or disaster.

Dig below the surface of things, but be careful of when and where you dig. 

Travel broadens one's horizons both mental and emotional.

Disaster will test the strength of your heart. 

Deal honesty with those around you.

Their presence will affect you greatly this year.

In matters of the heart this year is crucial for you.

Remember that the eyes of others can see what you are blind to.

The same is also true in reverse.

Follow your heart in all things and you will be rewarded.

Keitaro read the fortune a second time and blinked. _What the heck kind of crazy fortune is this!?_ he thought. 

Seeing Keitaro reading his fortune, Shinobu decided to go and inquire as to what it said. It took some courage, but the young girl couldn't let this chance go by. Shinobu headed toward Keitaro and was about to ask about his fortune when she suddenly felt herself grabbed.

"Shinobu! Look, Shinobu!" shouted Su. "There's a stall selling mochi really cheap over there! Let's get some!"

"Wait! Please, Kaolla!" begged Shinobu as the foreign girl dragged her away. Her protests were in vain and she and Su were quickly lost in the crowd.

Keitaro was still so absorbed in looking at his fortune that he failed to notice both Shinobu's predicament and someone else coming up behind him.

"Hey, Keitaro. What's your fortune say?"

Keitaro yelped and jumped a bit. He turned to see Kitsune standing behind him smiling in a bemused manner. "Man, you're wound awful tight. Was it bad news or is seeing everyone but Naru in traditional outfits getting you all hot and bothered?"

"No!" sputtered Keitaro. "I mean, no, there's nothing wrong with my fortune or seeing you girls in kimonos! Not that I noticed your kimonos. Well, I noticed them but not in the way you're thinking about. I was just thinking--"

"Relax," interrupted Kitsune. "You're normal young man with a guy's urges. There's nothing wrong with you enjoying the sight of four nice-looking young women in traditional clothes."

Kitsune then batted her eyes at Keitaro. "Personally, I think this outfit makes me look damn sexy! Don't you?"

Keitaro's face blushed pure crimson. "Uh…well…that is…you…I think…"

Kitsune mentally grinned at Keitaro's embarrassment. _Poor Keitaro. He's got all those hormones swirling around in him, but the second a girl gets his juices going he totally falls apart. If it wasn't so much fun to watch I might actually feel bad about teasing him like this._

As Keitaro continued to struggle for words Kitsune gave him another sexy smile. "Feel free to look at me all you want, Keitaro. I don't mind. Just don't let Motoko or Naru catch you looking too long at Su or Shinobu. They'd probably get the wrong idea and give you a quick lesson in pain for those roving eyes."

That snapped Keitaro back to his senses. He gulped and nodded. The wraths of Motoko and Naru were certainly to be feared.

"Anyway, you gonna tell me what your fortune was or not?" inquired the girl from Osaka.

"Oh, that. It just says a bunch of silly nonsense," dismissed Keitaro. "I really don't know who writes these things."

"If it's just silly nonsense you won't mind if I have a look then, will you?" said Kitsune. Before Keitaro could react the girl's hand snaked out and grabbed the fortune from his hand.

"Hey!" shouted the ronin.

But Kitsune ignored him as she read the fortune. She then turned back to Keitaro with a bemused look on her face. "Don't tell me this has you all bent out of shape. I admit it's sorta odd as fortunes go, but it doesn't seem that bad to me."

"It 'doesn't seem bad' to you?!" Keitaro repeated. "It mentions disaster twice. Twice!"

"It also mentions happiness and being rewarded. You're making it sound all bad."

"It sounds to me like this year will either be one of the best of my life or a total disaster," said Keitaro, nervously. "No middle ground. A weird fortune like that isn't something I want to bet my future happiness on."

"Ah ha! So you admit this fortune has you worried."

After a moment's hesitation Keitaro nodded. "I know it sounds silly. But I've been really happy since moving into the Hinata and I don't want anything rocking the boat. Plus, the Tokyo U entrance exams are coming up and I don't need any 'strange luck' when it comes to them."

"If that's really what you want why don't you tie this fortune to a branch on one of those trees over there?" suggested Kitsune. "That's an old trick for getting rid of bad fortunes, you know."

Keitaro turned and looked at the grove of trees his housemate had indicated. "Yeah, you're right. I'd forgotten about that. But the branches are pretty high. I'm not sure if I can reach."

"No problemo," assured the light-haired girl as she grabbed Keitaro's coat and dragged him over to the trees. Once there Kitsune turned to face the her companion. "If you really want to get rid of this fortune squat down and let me climb on your shoulders. Then you can boost me up and I'll tie it to a branch."

"Really!?" exclaimed Keitaro. "It'll be good to be rid of this silly fortune. I'm feeling more happy already."

"You should be happy," smirked Kitsune. "There are loads of guys in this town who'd love to get their head between my legs."

Keitaro gulped and felt his face turn bright red. He also felt some blood start to trickle from his nose which he quickly covered with his hands. "Kitsune! Keep your voice down! If someone were to hear you say that they might think--"

"That you were one hell of a lucky guy," finished the girl. Kitsune then allowed herself another mental grin. _It really should be a crime to have this much fun. Just to make things interesting I think I'll run a little psychological test. Now we'll find out just what Keitaro Urashima is really made out of._

While Kitsune had been thinking Keitaro hand managed to get himself under control but still looked a bit flush. "Are you ready, Kitsune? I'd really like to get this over with."

"Before we do that there's something I wanna ask you," said Kitsune. "You want to get rid of this fortune because you think it means this new year will be bad for you, even though it also talked about how very good things could happen to you too, right?"

Keitaro nodded. "Right. I don't have a gambler's spirit when it comes to my future happiness. The way the fortune made it sound I'll either come out on top or have everything go hell this year. No middle ground. I'd rather take my chances then deal with extremes like that."

"That's kinda funny that you say you don't have 'a gambler's spirit when it comes to your future happiness'. It seems to me the opposite is true."

"What do you mean?"

"Take this childhood sweetheart of yours," began Kitsune. "I heard you mooning over her the day you first came here, remember? I bet you dream about finding her someday and riding off on a white horse to live happily ever after."

Keitaro gulped but then nodded. "Yeah, I know it sounds silly but…I really think she's out there somewhere. And we did promise to meet again someday."

"Really? Where and when?"

Keitaro turned a bit more red and fidgeted. "Uh, actually, that's kinda personal. I'd rather keep that to myself."

Kitsune arched her eyebrows. _Now isn't that interesting?_ she thought. _Keitaro doesn't seem to want to share on this topic so I'll let it drop for now. I can always figure a way to get the whole story out of him later anyway._

"Okay, the gal of your dreams aside, what about Tokyo U?" continued the girl. "I know your test scores aren't the best, but you could probably get into a decent second tier school if you wanted, right?"

Keitaro nodded.

"But you keep aiming for Tokyo U, the hardest school in all of Japan to get admitted to. For two solid years you've tried and failed but you keep at it. Can you honestly tell me that saying that it's Tokyo U or nothing when it comes to college isn't a gamble on your future happiness? And a longshot at that."

Keitaro was silent for several moments as he mulled over Kitsune's words. "I guess if you put it that way I am sorta gambling my future happiness on some pretty long odds. But even so I'm not going to stop. I've had this feeling that the girl from my memories and Tokyo U are my destiny. I know that sounds a bit silly. But I've felt that way since I was five years old and I'm not going to give up on those dreams now no matter what!"

Kitsune actually felt a bit taken aback. _I never thought Keitaro had that kind of determination in him. I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover._

"Then if you're already playing the long odds why not keep this fortune?" asked Kitsune. "One thing I know about gambling is that the people who win big are the ones that play the long odds. If you're already doing that, why stop? Ever think that maybe finding your dream girl and getting into Tokyo U is the happiness and reward the fortune mentions?"

Keitaro was again silent as he thought over what had been said. "But what about the disaster the fortune mentions? What if--"

Kitsune sighed and shook her head. "What if ants wore hats? Every person in the world risks disaster just by getting out of bed every morning. If you really believe that that girl and Tokyo U are your destiny are you really going to let a possibility from a fortune stop you from a chance of having it all after having come this far?"

Keitaro again considered Kitsune's words for several moments before reaching out and taking his fortune back. "You're right, Kitsune," he said, his voice strengthening. "I have taken a lot of risks already. If it means I can finally be with that girl again and get into to Tokyo U, then in the end what's one more risk matter?"

Kitsune smiled. _Congratulations, Keitaro. You passed the test. Hold on to that attitude and you just might make those dreams come true._

"Good for you, Keitaro," said Kitsune happily. "See? Not only am I sexy but I'm wise too. Just like any good fox."

Keitaro nodded and tried to keep his thoughts from going off in impure directions. He failed utterly. "Uh, well, you'll get no argument from me. Now maybe we should get back to the others. They must be wondering where we went off to by now."

"Sounds good to me too. I wanna find someone selling sake. All that doling out wisdom stuff makes a gal thirsty."

"You don't need to look for someone selling sake," informed Keitaro. "There's an all-you-can-drink table of sweet sake set up by the temple. I saw it on the way in."

"What!?" squawked Kitsune. "How the hell did I miss something like that?! Quick, show me where it is!"

Sighing, Keitaro complied. A few minutes later the pair stood looking at the long table where the free sweet sake was set out. All around the table people stood drinking and chatting happily. More than a few flushed faces could be seen.

"Oh, free booze," sighed Kitsune, tears almost forming in her eyes. "This is as close to heaven on earth as we humans can know."

Just then a loud growl could be heard coming from behind the two. Startled, Keitaro and Kitsune whipped around to see someone wearing a large lion mask that was normally used in New Year's parades. Before either could speak the mask lifted to show the face beneath it.

"Hi, guys!" greeted Su in her most energetic voice.

"Su?!" gasped Keitaro. "What in the world are you doing wearing that thing?"  
"Motoko told me that when someone gets bitten by one of these lions they get happiness for a whole year," informed the foreign girl. Su then gave Keitaro the sort of grin she normally used for looking at a tasty meal. "Since you've been so nice to me lately I'm gonna bite you so you be happy all year, Keitaro!"

"Oohh, a biter. Why doesn't it surprise me that Su's that type?" teased Kitsune.

"Kitsune! Don't say such things in front of Su!" flared Keitaro in embarrassment. "She's only thirteen!"

"Are you ready for your good luck, Keitaro?" asked Su, still grinning. "'Cause now it's _Jaws_ time!" 

Before the ronin could protest Su and her mask leapt toward him. Keitaro gave a yelp and dashed toward the sake table. 

"Resistance is futile!" called Su as she gave chase. 

"Says you and the Borg!" retorted Keitaro as he ran.

Kitsune just stood back and watched in amusement. But that amusement quickly faded as she realized that her housemates were barreling toward the sake table with no signs of stopping. "Stop, you two! You're gonna wreck the drinks!"

If either of the duo heard they gave no notice. Su was closing on Keitaro so in a moment of desperation the ronin hurled himself forward and managed to dive under the table. 

The ever-nimble Su leapt into the air planning to sail over the table cut her prey off on the other side. Sadly, she forgot to factor in the weight of the heavy lion mask when making her jump. As such, Su fell sort of her goal and ended up having her left foot catch the edge of the table. The force was enough to send Su and the table tumbling over.

"No! The sake!" shouted Kitsune as she ran over. 

Once there she could see that Su and her mask had tumbled a few feet away from the table but were unhurt. The junior high girl stood and began to rub her rear. "Ow, now I'm gonna get a bruise on my butt."

Keitaro on the other hand hadn't faired as well. The table had pinned him from the waist down and the top half of his body was soaked with spilled sake. "Jeez, I think I landed on my keys," complained the ronin.

"Aw, Keitaro, you spilled all the sake," whined Kitsune.

It was at that moment that an elderly man dressed in the robes of one of the temple keepers appeared from the crowd that had been watching what was going on. "Oh dear," he said. "Has anyone been hurt?"

"No, we're fine," assured Keitaro, having just finished getting back to his feet. He than gave the temple keeper a very deep bow. "I've very sorry for causing so much trouble."

Su trod over also looking remorseful. "Sorry about your booze. I didn't mean to wreak it. We were just playing." 

Keitaro, who was still bowed, reached out with his right hand, placed it on the back of Su's head and gently but forcefully made her bow as well. Once that was done they both stood back up. Keitaro looked mortified while Su seemed a tad confused. 

The temple keeper smiled and nodded. "Think nothing of it. I can see that this was an accident and that you're both very sorry. I must say, it's nice to see such well mannered young people these days."

"Hey, mister, what about the sake?" called Kitsune.

"Don't worry, young miss," replied the old man. "This temple is fortunate to have a local brewery owner as a patron. He donated all the sake we have today and said to call him should we need more. I'll just let him know what happened and ask that he send some more over. However, since today is New Year's Day, I fear that it will take several hours to get things taken care of. But I'm sure we'll be able to get things in order for the fireworks show tonight.

"Now, if you've excuse me, I'll go make that call." The temple keeper then bowed and headed off.

"Fireworks show?" blinked Keitaro. "Yesterday was the new year and there were fireworks then. Why would they have more tonight?"

Kitsune and Su shrugged.

"You mean you didn't know?" said a voice from behind the trio.

The three turned to see Naru, Shinobu and Motoko standing behind them. "This temple first opened its doors seventy five years ago today," informed Motoko. "As such, the temple has secured permission from the city to have a fireworks show tonight starting at midnight."

"Assuming you don't wreck anything else in the meantime," grumbled Naru while giving Keitaro an annoyed look. "As much fun as coming to the temple was, I need to be getting back home to study. It'd be a good idea if you came too, Keitaro. And not just because you need to study to, Mr. Second Year Ronin. You also need a change of clothes. I can smell the sake on you from over here."

Keitaro himself sniffed several times. Naru was right. He smelled like a distillery. "Uh, yeah, those both sound like good ideas," nodded Keitaro as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Sempai, does this mean you're not going to be here for the fireworks show?" asked Shinobu.

"Uh…well," stammered Keitaro. He cast a quick glance at the girls to try and judge what they were feeling. Shinobu seemed focused on him and looked concerned. Naru looked to be getting impatient. Motoko's expression was neutral. Su wasn't even paying attention. She was walking around Keitaro in a circle sniffing his clothes. He did his best to ignore her. Lastly, Kitsune was looking at him with mild interest at what his answer would be. 

"Of course I'll be back in time," Keitaro answered. "I can go home, change, do some studying and then come back in time for the show."

"That'll be wonderful, sempai!" said Shinobu, elated.

"What you, Naru? You gonna come back for the show?" asked Kitsune.

Naru thought about it for a few moments before nodding. "I suppose being at home alone wouldn't be much fun. But, Keitaro, when we get back to the house you better not goof off when we're studying or else! If we don't get some real studying in before the fireworks start you're staying with me and studying math while everyone else enjoys the show. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," gulped Keitaro.

"Are you sure you two just don't want a little alone time?" grinned Kitsune in innuendo. 

Naru and Keitaro both blushed. 

"Don't say things like that," said Naru, embarrassed. "You'll just give him filthy ideas. Besides, having someone to study with helps both of us learn better. It's as simple as that." 

Kitsune was about to reply when Naru grabbed Keitaro by the arm of his coat and started to lead him away. "Come on, pervert. We need to study."

"We'll see you all in a couple of hours," called Keitaro as he and Naru headed into the crowd.

~*~

Several hours later, back at the Hinata House, Keitaro and Naru were in the middle of what they called a "two for one" study session. The idea was that each of them would get a different study guide and they would ask each other a question and then switch who the questioner was. Keitaro currently had a book on literature while Naru had a geography book.

"Who wrote the 106 volume story _Nansō Satomi Hakkenden_?" asked Keitaro. 

****

A) Bakin Takizawa 

****

B) Saneatsu Mushanokōji 

****

C) Sōseki Natsume 

****

D) Shikibi Murasaki 

****

E) Masao Kume?"

"That's not too hard," mused the auburn-haired girl. "Let's see, it clearly can't be Murasaki. Everyone knows she wrote _Genji Monogatari_. It's not Kume because he died only about fifty years ago. _Nansō Satomi Hakkenden _is a samurai story and was written back in those days. I'm pretty sure it was **A**."

"You got it," nodded Keitaro.

"Okay, it's your turn," said Naru. "We're still on North American geography. Which of the following is the largest of the Great Lakes? 

Lake Huron ****

B) Lake Ontario 

****

C) Lake Michigan 

****

D) Lake Erie 

****

E) Lake Superior?"

"Lake Superior," replied Keitaro.

"That was easy. Now do me."

Keitaro's thoughts momentarily flew in a number of lusty directions, but he managed to reign himself in before Naru noticed. 

"Who wrote the poem 'The Road Not Taken'? 

****

A) Washington Irving 

****

B) Mark Twain 

****

C) Robert Frost 

****

D) T. S. Elliot 

****

E) Jack London?"

Naru exhaled deeply and sighed. "Let's see, I know it wasn't Jack London or Mark Twain. They were novelists mostly. I'm pretty sure it wasn't T. S. Elliot too. I think it was…gimme a sec…I know this…Robert Frost!"

"Yep," nodded Keitaro. "That's ten in a row, Naru. Good work."

"I borrowed some of Kitsune's books the other night," Naru replied, the pride in her voice clear. "She doesn't do it as much now, but she really liked to read when she was in high school. She's got quite the collection of stuff stashed in a box in her closet."

"Really?" said Keitaro. "I never would have pictured her as the reading type. I guess everyone has layers to them."

Naru's head tuned and looked in the direction of Kitsune's room. "Yeah. I guess they do," she said quietly. 

Keitaro blinked and was about to ask Naru what she was doing when his studymate turned back around and looked at the book in her hand. "Uh, next question, same topic. Which of the following is the capital of the American state of Kansas? 

****

A) Wichita 

****

B) Topeka 

****

C) Omaha 

****

D) Lincoln 

****

E) Smallville?"

"Damn, that's a tough one," muttered Keitaro. "I know that Omaha is in Nebraska. So is Lincoln…I'm pretty sure Wichita is in Kansas but I don't think it's the capital…So that means…"

"It means?" prodded Naru.

"Um, Smallville?"

Naru momentarily went stiff with disbelief. She quickly recovered and proceeded to hurl the geography book at Keitaro, taking great satisfaction at the sound it made as it smashed into his face.

"You idiot! The answer is Topeka! Smallville is Superman's hometown!"

"Whoever writes these tests has a twisted sense of humor," grumbled Keitaro as he rubbed his face where the book had impacted.

Naru huffed and shook her head. "Before that flub you were seven for ten. That's actually pretty good for you. If you study a little harder you might have a real shot at passing the center exam that's coming up soon."

Glad that Naru's anger seemed to have subsided Keitaro smiled at her praise. "Thanks a lot. I think I've got a pretty good chance of passing too. I managed to pass the one they had last year, after all."

"Say what?! If you passed the center exam last year then why didn't you make the cut off for Tokyo U?"

Keitaro began to scratch the back of his head in embarrassment. "Uh, well, the thing of it is that the center uses mark up sheets and I goofed up on them."

"A good mechanic doesn't blame his tools," frowned Naru. "And someone who wants in Tokyo U shouldn't blame the mark up sheet."

Keitaro nodded, not fully paying attention. He was currently in the middle of a semi-flashback. "I was sure I used up all the bad luck I was due there. But then I tanked on the second big test the next day. Once I realized I was going to be ronin for another year I got really depressed. Because of that my grades started to slip until I was under 50%. That's when my folks kicked me out of the house and I ended up here."

"Wow, that is kind of a downer. Still, you've improved lately and so have I. If we keep this up we could both be students at Tokyo University by spring."

Keitaro blinked and began to turn that concept over in his mind. _Me and Naru at Tokyo University? Kitsune might have been right. Maybe this is the year I'll finally get everything I've ever wanted. In a couple of months I could studying law at Tokyo U. And if Naru is the girl from my promise like I think is might be…_

Naru noticed that Keitaro seemed to have gotten a distant look on his face. "Hey, Earth to Keitaro. Come in, Keitaro. You'd better not be thinking something dirty!"

That last statement snapped the ronin back to reality. "Uh, Naru?"

"Yeah?"

Keitaro looked across the table at Naru. He took a deep breath to try and help gather the courage for what he wanted to say next. _If it means I can finally be with that girl again and get into to Tokyo U, then in the end what's one more risk matter? _

"Naru, let's make a promise to each other right here and now," said Keitaro, earnestly.

"A..A promise?" gulped Naru.

Keitaro nodded. "Let's promise each other that we'll get into Tokyo U together. You're tops in the country on those mock exams and I'm a second year ronin. If anyone deserves to get into Tokyo University it's the two of us! If we keep at it like we have there's no way we can fail!"

Naru took a second to process what she'd just heard but then nodded. "You're right, Keitaro! We've come this far and I don't plan to fail!"

Instinctively, the two suddenly grasped hands.

"Good luck to both of us!" wished Naru.

"To our double entry!" responded Keitaro.

The pair then spent a few seconds mutually reveling in the moment. Then Naru suddenly realized Keitaro was holding her hand. She jerked it back and blushed. Keitaro, after coming to the same realization about one second later, also blushed.

To shake off the embarrassment Naru stood, stretched and adjusted her glasses. "I guess we've studied enough for one day. Let me go back to my room and change and we can head out. We should have a few hours to find the others and enjoy yourselves once we get there before the fireworks start."

"Sounds good," nodded Keitaro.

With that, Naru turned and headed for the door. But just as she reached the threshold she stopped but didn't turn around. 

"Keitaro?"

"Yeah?"  
"If try and peek at me while I change this time, I'll hit you so hard it'll put you in orbit. Around Saturn. Got it?"

Keitaro gulped. "Got it."

As soon as Naru's footsteps vanished down the hall Keitaro flopped back on the floor and exhaled. "It worked," he chuckled to himself. "Kitsune was right. People who play the long odds do win big. I took a risk by asking Naru to make a promise like that but it worked. 

"Now, if I'm right and she is the girl from my childhood, then we've double promised each other we'll go to Tokyo U together. No power in the universe can top a double promise!"

Just then Keitaro heard movement up in Naru's room. He felt his eyes drifting toward the loose piece of wood Naru kept on her floor that served as his ceiling. Keitaro had experienced on several occasions Naru's fury after poking his head through that hole uninvited. Given what had just happened between them he had no desire to do anything that might upset the positive air that, for the moment, existed between them. 

"So close to heaven, yet still so far away," sighed Keitaro as he cast a final look at the hole. He then stood and stretched.

Shortly thereafter Keitaro's door opened and he almost collapsed at the sight before him. In the doorway stood Naru wearing a finely crafted, dark blue kimono with a pink and green flower design. There was also a small, pink nadesico flower in her hair and a brown stole wrapped around her shoulders.

Keitaro gaped.

"So wadda you think?" asked Naru, a quirky smile on her face.

Still stunned by the lovely vision before him, it took Keitaro a moment to pull his thoughts together. "You look…great! That outfit really suits you!"

"Really?" asked Naru as she did a small pirouette to examine the kimono. "I admit, seeing the others in their outfits made me remember how nice it is it get dressed up like this once in a while."

_Wow, Naru looks amazing in that outfit_, thought Keitaro. _If this is any indication of what that fortune was telling me about, then this year really could be the best of my life. Thank goodness Kitsune talked me out of getting rid of that fortune. I'll have to do something to thank her later._

"Ready to go?" asked Naru.

Keitaro nodded and the two headed for the door. 

As they descended the stairs in front of the Hinata House Naru suddenly turned to Keitaro. "Oh, I just remembered. You never told us what the fortune you got said."

The young ronin looked at Naru in her kimono and thought over the events of the last few hours. Then he smiled.

"Good luck. It said I'm going to have lots of good luck this year."

~*~

Keitaro took a deep breath and focused. Before him was the enemy, the one he'd vowed to vanquish. 

"Come on, Keitaro," pleaded Naru. "Just admit defeat. This is a fight you just can't win."

"No way! If I can't win then I am not a man!"

"You barely qualify as a man now," muttered Naru under her breath.

Keitaro felt the weight of his weapon in his right hand. With this instrument he would fell the one before him and show Naru what he was really made of. Some inner instinct told the ronin that now was the time to strike. Keitaro hurled his weapon forward…

…and missed utterly.

"Ya sure the prescription on those glasses is up to date, kiddo?" asked the gaunt man who stood behind the counter of the carnival booth.

Keitaro whimpered. Since arriving back at the temple almost an hour ago he and Naru had been having a good time. After searching for the others to no avail for a time the duo had decided to just enjoy the festival. Since then they'd taken in the attractions, had some shaved ice, people watched, chatted about a few things and generally had an enjoyable time. Much to Keitaro's delight.

It seemed that his roll of good fortune was still going.

But then Keitaro had decided to try an impress Naru by winning her a stuffed animal at one of the booths. Using an old softball to knock down a few stacked milk bottles had seemed like no challenge at all. Now, after several failures, Keitaro had a sinking feeling his run of luck was over.

"Give it up, Keitaro," signed Naru. "You've been at this for over fifteen minutes, have already blow around ¥2,000 and you still haven't even come close. Call it quits already!"

"No!" retorted Keitaro and gabbed up another ball and hurled it. The ball fell like a rock right in front of the platform where the bottles rested. 

"Ooooooh, ya were so close," said the booth worker, unconvincingly. "You've got one more ball to toss. Then it'll be another ¥200 for three more. Come on, kiddo. Ya wanna win yer girlfriend a prize, don't 'cha?"

"Hey!" shouted Naru. "I'm not his girlfriend! He's just a perverted second year ronin I happen to live with!"

The carnie let out an impressed whistle and nudged Keitaro in the ribs. "You're a second year ronin and ya managed not only to get a hot little number like that for your girlfriend, but you're living together to boot? What's yer secret, kiddo? If I could get a sweet little thing with a rack like that for myself, I'd dump that frigid scarecrow I call a wife in a New York minute."

"No! No! It's not like that! I'm not like that at all!" sputtered Keitaro.

"Both of you are disgusting!" howled Naru. She then rushed forward and dealt Keitaro a punch to the head that sent him tumbling to the ground. The carnie jumped back fearing the same fate.

"Have fun trading dating advice, you sickos!" spat Naru as she stomped off.

Keitaro then stood, dusted himself off and sighed. "That confirms it. My good luck is over."

"Crap in a hat!" gulped the carnie. "Suddenly a frigid, gangly wife don't seem so bad. Better to have to deal with a woman who can't put out then one who'll beat a guy senseless."

Keitaro gave the man a disgusted look. "Hey, don't you talk like that about her! Naru may have temper but she's also very nice and kind. Someone like you wouldn't understand that!"

"Uh, sure, kiddo," replied the carnie, nervously. For all he knew the guy could be as violent as the girl. "Look, you've got one ball left to throw. Why don't ya toss it and then go? After that I think I'll close up early."

Before Keitaro could respond the worker shoved the last ball into his hand. Keitaro looked at it for a moment and sighed. "Forget it."

He then turned began to walk away. As he did he casually tossed the ball back toward the booth over his shoulder. The ronin stopped dead in his tracks a second later as the sound of half a dozen milk bottles falling to the ground filled the air. Keitaro whipped around in disbelief.

__

No way! he thought. 

But sure enough, through some cosmic fluke, Keitaro had knocked the bottles over.

"Well I'll be dipped," muttered the booth worker as he scratched his head in amazement. The man then reached over to the prize wall, grabbed a stuffed green frog about a foot and a half high and tossed it to Keitaro. Somehow he managed to catch it.

"That's some damn strange luck ya got there, kiddo," said the carnie. "I hope that luck's with ya when yer dealin' with that girl. Somethin' tells me yer gonna need it."

With that, the man quickly closed the shutters on his booth.

"'Strange luck'?" repeated Keitaro.

The young man shook his head to try and clear it and then looked down at his prize. "Hey, I know this toy. It's one of those _Hello Kitty_ characters. KeroKero or something like that. Maybe if I give this to Naru later it'll help her to forgive me."

Keitaro then suddenly flashed back to the angry look Naru had worn as she'd left. Suddenly his prospects of forgiveness seemed much dimmer. "Aaahhh, dammit! And things between us had been going so well the last few hours!"

With a final sigh Keitaro tucked the toy under his arm and headed off to try and find the girls.

~*~

"This sucks," mumbled Keitaro.

It had been almost an hour since Naru had stomped off and despite his best efforts Keitaro had had no luck finding her or any of the other girls. The fireworks were due to start in about forty minutes and Keitaro was growing worried that he'd end up watching them alone. As if that wasn't bad enough everywhere the ronin looked he seemed to see couples walking, smiling, joking and flirting; all hand in hand.

As he watched yet another happy couple stroll by Keitaro let out a small whine. "One minute I'm one cloud nine and now I'm down in the ninth circle of Hell. Maybe I should have tied that damn fortune to a tree after all.

"No, I'm being silly. It was Naru's temper and my usual bad luck that caused this. Blaming that fortune is silly. Still, watching all these couples together isn't making me feel any better. Maybe I should just go be by myself for a minute before I start looking for the girls again."

With plan in hand Keitaro began to look for a spot where he could grab a moment of solitude. He soon spotted a darkened and empty area of the shrine's garden. The ronin then quickly headed there.

With some space between him and the crowd Keitaro began to relax a bit. "Ah, this is better," said Keitaro as he walked down the garden path. 

For few minutes Keitaro simply walked down the path letting the silence and darkness of the garden drain his stress away. But his peace was suddenly shattered when something caught the ronin's eye. Nearby lay the figure of a woman spread haphazardly on the grass.

"Hey! Hey, miss! Are you okay?" called Keitaro as he ran over to the woman.

As he did so the woman groggily raised herself up off the grass and looked at him. "Huh? Wha? Oh, hey, Keitaro! Fancy meetin' you here," slurred Kitsune.

Keitaro just blinked in shock. "Kitsune?!"

The drunken girl then began to look around. "Hey, what are we doing here?" Kitsune then grinned one of her trademark fox-like grins. "Were you feeling lonely, Keitaro? Is that why you dragged me to this secluded little spot? And with so many people nearby! How naughty and romantic! I never thought you were that type."

"No! No! No!" blanched the ronin. "I was taking a walk in the garden and found you laying on the grass. I swear!"

"Too bad," huffed Kitsune. "Some girls like guys who are a little on the bold side." The fox-girl's grin now turned amazingly seductive. "You know, Keitaro, I've always thought you were kinda cute."

__

Cute?! Did a girl really just call me cute!? Keitaro thought as his heart began to pound.

"In a nerdy, hopeless loser sort of way, that is."

Keitaro collapsed to the ground in disappointment.

"Whadda ya, say Keitaro?" said Kitsune in a voice that made the ronin feel like he was going to melt. "We're all alone and technically it's still New Year's Day. We can still celebrate."

Keitaro's heart was now beating so fast he was sure it was going to burst out of his chest and go flying through the air at any moment. "C-ce-celebrate!?"

"It doesn't have to mean anything. Just two people chasing the loneliness away for a little while," assured the girl as she crawled forward seductively. Despite himself Keitaro couldn't help but notice that Kitsune's kimono was now rather loose. Plus, with the way she was moving towards him, he was getting a view of his housemate's ample bosom that bordered on indecent. 

"Come on, Keitaro. I've been around the block a few times. An older, more experienced girl like me can show you everything you've ever dreamed of and more."

_This can't be happening!_ thought Keitaro. _No way in hell could anything this good ever happen to me! Then again, that fortune…_

"Still thinking it over?" sighed Kitsune. "Maybe this will help you make up your mind." 

With that, Kitsune turned her back to Keitaro. Seconds later her kimono slid off her shoulders and down almost to her waist. The ronin gulped as he noticed that his housemate had opted not to wear a bra. With her back to him as it was, Keitaro couldn't clearly see anything too forbidden, but the sight of the smooth skin of Kitsune's back was more than enough send Keitaro's already extremely excited senses into overload.

"Carpe diem time, Keitaro," whispered Kitsune, softly.

_Good God, what do I do now?_ thought the ronin. 

It was at that moment, in a puff of metaphor, that three tiny figures appeared on either side of Keitaro's head. 

The two figures on Keitaro's left looked exactly like his friends Haitani and Shirai. The only difference was that this Haitani and Shirai wore devil costumes complete with tails, horns and pitchforks.

The sole figure that appeared on Keitaro's right, in contrast, looked just like Shinobu. Only this Shinobu wore a pure white gown, had wings jutting from her back, a bright halo over her head and a golden harp in one hand.

"What the hell are you waiting for, idiot!?" shouted Devil Haitani. "She's raring and ready to go and you're sitting on your ass trying to figure out if you should go for it or not! No wonder you're still a virgin and a ronin!"

"Yeah!" added Devil Shirai. "We know what all your fantasies are and something like this certainly qualifies as one of them come true."

Keitaro nodded as he looked at Kitsune. "Well, I'd be lying if I said something like this had never crossed my mind…"

"Sempai, don't listen to them!" implored Angel Shinobu. "Kitsune's clearly had too much to drink and doesn't really know what she's doing. I know you're not the type who'd take advantage of her like that."

"It's true, I can smell the sake on her even from over here," admitted Keitaro.

"Don't listen to Little Miss Goody Goody," snorted Devil Haitani. "So what if she's drunk? Kitsune's half drunk all the time and nobody questions her ability to make decisions then. After twenty years without so much as a date you deserve this!"

"And clearly Kitsune's a girl with a few notches on her lipstick case, if you know what I mean," said Devil Shirai. "What's wrong with you being one more?" 

"You don't really think that Kitsune is…that sort of person," rebutted Angel Shinobu before Keitaro could reply. "Just because she's uninhibited doesn't mean she's… that she's a…a…"

"Slut?" suggested Devil Shirai.

"A total spread machine?" offered Devil Haitani.

"Hey!" snapped Keitaro. "Shinobu's right! I don't think of Kitsune like that!"

"Bzzzzt! Wrong!" retorted Devil Haitani. "The both of us are manifestations of your inner feelings and thoughts. Ergo, because we see her that way that means part of you does too."

Keitaro gulped. He wanted to refute Devil Haitani's claim, but in his heart he knew what he'd heard wasn't totally untrue.

"Don't let them trick you like that," warned Angel Shinobu. "It's true that they're some of your feelings given voice and form. But so am I. I'm the part of you that knows that, despite her flaws, Kitsune is good at heart. I'm the part of you that cares about Kitsune as a person and would never want to hurt her. The same way you don't want to hurt the real Shinobu or the other girls.

"You're the Hinata House's landlord. That means the girls rely on you to take care of their home and even them to a degree. If you took advantage of Kitsune now do you think they'd ever trust you again? The real Shinobu's faith in you as her sempai would be destroyed. Plus, Naru would hate you forever for taking advantage of her best friend."

"N-Naru would hate me? Forever?" said Keitaro.

"Ah, crap," grumbled Devil Haitani. "She would have to go and use the **N**-word." 

"We're boned," sighed Devil Shirai.

It was then that another figure appeared to Keitaro's left. This figure also had horns, a tail and a pitchfork. But this new devil hand on garters, a lacy red bra with matching thong underwear and just happened to look like exactly like Kitsune.

"Oh no, not her!" cried Angel Shinobu.

"Cripes, can't you losers do anything right?" growled Devil Kitsune.

"Kitsune?!" asked Keitaro as he stared hard at the newcomer to his inner mental debate.

"The answer to that is yes and no. Actually it's just no," said Devil Kitsune. "But that's not important right now. What's important is that you've had a sure thing fall into your lap and you're thinking about running away before that sexy little thing over there has a chance to do anything to your lap or any other part of you body."

"Don't listen to her!" urged Angel Shinobu. "She'll say anything to get you to do what she wants. She's a manifestation of…of your…" Angel Shinobu trailed off and then blushed deeply.

"Aw, what's the matter, Ms. Morality?" mocked Devil Kitsune. "Are you so inhibited you can't even say the word? Fine, I'll do it. Plain and simple, I'm a manifestation of your lust, Keitaro."

"'My…my lust?!" repeated Keitaro, shocked.

"Is he going to repeat everything any of us say?" complained Devil Haitani. Devil Shirai just shrugged.

"Kitsune's a big girl, handsome," assured Devil Kitsune in a voice like silk. "If tonight she wants to share a little body heat with you why pass it up? And don't worry about the other girls. It'll just be a little secret between you two. Besides, the both of you are adults. How is what the two of you do in your spare time any of their business?"

Keitaro made a distraught sound and began to quickly look back and forth between the devils and the angel.

"Please, sempai! You know what the right thing to do is!" implored Angel Shinobu, her eyes filled with hope. 

"Come on, Keitaro!" urged Devil Kitsune "The chance to kiss virginity goodbye is right in front of you. All you have to do it take it!"

"It's time to finally get your freak on!" yelled Devil Shirai.

"If you pass this chance up you'll be a disgrace to every man who ever lived," warned Devil Haitani.

Keitaro felt his dual nature raging within him. But as with all battles eventually one side claimed victory.

"I…can't do it!" he yelled. "I won't take advantage of Kitsune like this! I'm her landlord and, at least in my eyes, her friend to a degree. That means it's my job to take care of her and help her when she needs it. Right now she needs someone to get her home safe and that's what I'll do!"

"Yay, sempai!" cheered Angel Shinobu. "I knew you'd do the right thing!"

Devil Kitsune glared at Keitaro. "Loser! I hope you enjoy having never been with a woman when you're eighty!"

"I guess I won't be getting any use out of this," sighed Devil Shirai as he pulled out a mini-videocamera. "Talk about a bummer."

"You know, just because the loser over there isn't interested doesn't mean you have to go home…unsatisfied," said Devil Haitani to Devil Kitsune. "If you're lonely Shirai and I—ACK!!"

Devil Haitani was cut off as Devil Kitsune began to bash him in the head with her pitchfork. "Like I'd ever do you losers!" spat Devil Kitsune just before going after Devil Shirai.

"Mommy!" screamed Devil Shirai as Devil Kitsune began to pummel him.

"You're a good person, Keitaro," smiled Angel Shinobu. "That's why you're my sempai."

With that, the devils and angel both vanished. Since the four had all been a part of Keitaro's mind the preceding conversation had happened at the speed of thought. As such, only about one second had elapsed in the real world.

Kitsune still awaited Keitaro's answer.

Deciding to get this over quickly Keitaro hopped up, hustled over to Kitsune and, while turning his head away, pulled her kimono back up over her shoulders. He then hauled the drunken girl to her feet and quickly made sure that the sash on her kimono was tied tightly. Finally, seeing that his housemate was unsteady on her feet, he put one arm around her waist and tossed one of her arms over his shoulder.

"Awww, does this mean you don't wanna have fun, Kei-ta-ro-chan?" asked Kitsune in a singsong voice.

"You're drunk, Kitsune. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted, but I'm not going to take advantage of you when you're like this. I'm not that sort of guy. And don't call me Keitaro-chan. Only grandma and my mom gets to call me that now that I'm an adult."

"Feh, it's your loss." 

"Yeah, I know," murmured Keitaro under his breath. "Just how much did you have to drink anyway? I don't think I've ever seen you this drunk."

"I stopped counting after the twentieth one. Or maybe it was thirty. Whatever. By then I was sorta havein' trouble walkin', nevermind countin'."

"Twenty or thirty drinks? Jeez, haven't you ever heard of alcohol poisoning?"

"Alcohol poison?" slurred Kitsune. "Oh, yeah, I've had those a few times. They make 'em with tomato juice and lemon twist, right? Oh, man, will those things knock you on you ass fast!"

Keitaro just shook his head. "Come on, let's get you home."

"Oh, I see. You wanna do it back the Hinata! While the cats are away the mice will play, eh?"

Keitaro could feel his emotions swirling around inside of him. Embarrassment, anger, lust, worry and duty churned steadily. Ill equipped to deal with such feelings, he just wanted for the night to be over. 

It was then that Keitaro spotted the KeroKero doll he'd won laying on the ground. In all the excitement he hadn't even noticed he'd dropped it. It was a bit of a balancing act with a drunken girl on his shoulder, but Keitaro managed to retrieve the doll without falling over.

"Cute toy," said Kitsune. "Is it for me?"

"No, it certainly isn't," snapped Keitaro. 

Just for a second Kitsune's eyes seemed to come out of the fog of alcohol and show a hint of pain. But just as quickly it faded and the girl was all drunken happiness again. 

The ronin then took a deep breath. _Yelling at Kitsune isn't going to help,_ he thought. _I just need to get her out of here. The sooner the better._

With that, Keitaro began to walk/haul Kitsune back toward the festival area.

"Sometimes you wanna go where knows your naaaaaaame…And they're always glad you caaaaaaame…You wanna go where you see troubles are all the same…. You wanna go where everybody knows your naaaaaame!" sang Kitsune in drunken merriment.

Keitaro just rolled his eyes.

"Sempai! Are you here?" called a voice suddenly.

"Scooby Doo, where are you?" came another voice.

"Was that…Shinobu and Su?" blinked Keitaro.

"Sounds like," answered Kitsune. "YO! SHINOBU! SU! OVER HERE!"

"There's no need to scream, you know," reprimanded Keitaro.

Kitsune just snickered.

Just then Shinobu and Su appeared. "Oh, sempai, there you are," said Shinobu. "I was…I mean, we were getting worried about you. The fireworks show is going to start soon."

"Wow, Kitsune totally reeks of booze!" exclaimed Su. "Did she turn over a sake table this time?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure she drank one all by herself," sighed Keitaro. "Actually, it's lucky I ran into you two. Kitsune is in no shape to take care of herself so I'm going to have to take her home. Do you two know where Naru or Motoko is?"

Shinobu nodded. "Yes, they're near the shrine's main bell. That's where all of us were supposed to meet just before the fireworks start."

"Good, go back there and tell them that Kitsune isn't well and that I had to take her home." Keitaro then turned a bit red. "And, um, tell Naru that I'm sorry. Uh, about missing the fireworks."

Shinobu felt massive disappointment that she wouldn't be able to watch the fireworks with Keitaro. But even she could smell the sake on Kitsune and knew that her wellbeing had to come first. "I understand, sempai. I'll be sure to tell them."

"Hey, who's the doll for?" asked Su.

Keitaro glanced at the stuff frog. He couldn't give it to Naru now, that was for sure. Having Su or Shinobu give it to her didn't seem right nor did giving it to Naru the next day.

Keitaro suddenly glanced at Shinobu. _You know, it never really occurred to me just how responsible Shinobu is, _he thought._ She's only thirteen but she does lots of chores around the house really well and never complains. Heck, she's even helping me out with this mess. I wonder if maybe we all haven't been taking here a bit for granted._

It was then that inspiration struck.

"Actually this is for Shinobu," informed Keitaro.

"For me!?" gasped Shinobu as she began to turn red.

Keitaro, who was blushing a tiny bit himself, nodded. "I won it at one of the booths a little while back. I figured this doll is cute and Shinobu is cute and I know that she likes stuffed animals so, uh, here."

Shinobu, who was a shade of red that any beet would envy, accepted the doll and then bowed deeply. "Thank you, sempai. I'll treasure it!"

__

At least I made one of the girls happy tonight, thought the ronin with a smile.

"It's been nice talkin' to ya but Keitaro needs to get going so he can get me in bed!" said Kitsune loudly.

Instantly Keitaro stiffened and Shinobu seemed about to cry.

"Uh oh, Keitaro's up to something naughty!" shouted Su.

"That's not true!" protested Keitaro. "You both know how Kitsune gets when she's drunk!" The ronin then focused on Shinobu. "Please, Shinobu, you know I wouldn't do something like that!"

The older boy's words seemed to seemed to calm Shinobu down and she nodded. "Yes, I know you'd never do something like that, sempai. Kitsune's just being…uh, silly."

"Thanks, for believing in me," said Keitaro in relief. "Anyway, we'd better get going. I'll see the both of you tomorrow."

"Yeah, do not disturb," mumbled Kitsune, more to herself than anyone.

"We'll be sure to tell Naru and Motoko what you said," assured Shinobu.

"Hey, Shinobu, let's get going," insisted Su. "I don't wanna miss the fireworks."

Keitaro gave the girls a quick nod and then led Kitsune off into the night.

~*~

At the shrine's main bell the two other Hinata girls were waiting.

"The fireworks will be starting soon," observed Naru. "Where the heck are Shinobu, Su and Kitsune?"

"I know not," said Motoko. "But I am sure they will be here soon."

"I suppose so."

Motoko glanced at Naru and could tell the irritation she was feeling now was not entirely due to the lateness of the other girls. The kendo girl didn't need much thought to make a guess as to the cause of Naru's anger.

"What of Urashima? Do you not fear that he will be unable to join us?

"That pervert can do as he likes," growled Naru.

__

To have angered Naru to this degree Urashima must have done something worse than usual, mused Motoko. _Though normally I would gladly wield my blade to see that he is punished, I do not know what that ronin has done. To strike him down without knowing the nature of his infraction would be dishonorable. As such, whatever has happened will have to remain between the two of them._

Woe to you, Keitaro Urashima. To have angered Naru like this on the first day of the new year does not bode well for you.

Just then Su and Shinobu appeared from the crowd.

"Hey, guys! We're here!" shouted Su.

"Where were you both?" asked Motoko. "The fireworks shall soon commence." 

"We were with sempai and Kitsune," replied Shinobu. "Kitsune had way to much to drink so sempai asked us to tell you that he was taking her home and that he's sorry about not being able to watch the fireworks with us."

"He's what?!" squawked Naru. "Kitsune was so out of it he had take her home?"

"Yeah, Kitsune was mega-drunk!" nodded Su. "Hammered, tanked, plastered, smashed, stewed to the gills, splitfaced! No, wait, that's not the word! Oh yeah, she was shi--"

"Kaolla, don't use words like that!" interrupted Shinobu, frantically. "It's very rude!

The two older girls quickly exchanged worried glances.

"Su, Shinobu, stay right here," ordered Motoko. "Naru and I must discuss something in private."

Before the younger girls could give any sign of confirmation Naru and Motoko quickly hustled off to an area by one of the shrine's wall were they could speak in relative privacy. "I see that you too share my concerns about this situation," began Motoko.

Naru nodded. "A pervert like Keitaro and Kitsune after what's sounds like way to many, even for her. That's something awful just begging to happen."

"Though he is given to lecherous tendencies, I don't believe Urashima would try and molest Kitsune."

"Of course he wouldn't," dismissed Naru. "He doesn't have the brass ones to try something like that. Besides, even if she's really drunk, Kitsune can take care of herself when it comes to guys with grabby hands. Trust me, I've seen it happen."

Motoko just nodded, not wanting to dwell on just how Naru knew that bit of information.

"What I'm really worried is Kitsune's affect on that ronin," said Naru. "You've seen how…friendly she can when she's had too much to drink. I'm just worried that her fondness for …um, the physical and Keitaro, you know, what with those guy instincts…"

Again Motoko nodded. "With Kitsune's judgement clouded by drink and Keitaro's by his deviant males urges an unfortunate incident is a real possibility. For their own good we must locate Keitaro and Kitsune post haste."

"Agreed. But we'd better hurry. I'd say they have a good head start on us."

"Let me attend to the safety of Su and Shinobu and we'll be off."

With that Motoko quickly moved back to the bell where the younger girls were waiting. "Su, Shinobu, Naru and I must leave at once," began the kendo girl. "If Kitsune is as intoxicated as you say Keitaro may need help in getting her home and attending to her."

"Motoko, does this mean you're not going to watch the fireworks with us?" asked Su, whose eyes seemed to be getting moist.

"I'm afraid so," confirmed Motoko. She then reached into a pocket and pulled out a few bills. "Here is ¥1,000. Go and purchase yourselves some chocolate covered bananas and enjoy the fireworks. After they are over go to the shrine's main office and speak to the head shrine keeper. Tell him I sent you and he'll see that you are escorted home safely. Now I must go."

"But, Motoko, I--" began Shinobu.

She got no further than that because in the blink of an eye Su grabbed both the money and Shinobu's hand. "Yay! Chocolate covered bananas! I love bananas! They're my favorite food!"

For the second time in one night Shinobu was dragged away by Su and her boundless appetite. 

"Good thinking," said Naru as she appeared behind Motoko. "Now that they're safe let's get going."

"Indeed."

With that the two girls headed into the night. 

~*~

Keitaro sighed in annoyance. He'd managed to get Kitsune almost all the way home without too much difficulty. But suddenly she'd gotten a queasy look on her face and Keitaro had rushed to get the girl over to a trashcan in case she had to be sick. At the moment Kitsune stood over the trashcan holding onto the sides with her hands, her head hanging over the hole, breathing in and out quickly.

"Oooohhhh, I guess there really is such a thing too much of a good thing," moaned Kitsune.

"Uh, are you okay?" ventured Keitaro. "You don't need to go the hospital or anything do you?" 

"No, I'm fine," dismissed Kitsune with a wave of her hand. "I'm actually feelin' a bit better. Jus' gimme a sec."

After several more moments of labored breathing Kitsune managed to pull herself together. "I'm feelin' better. Let's go."

Keitaro nodded and again tossed Kitsune's arm over his shoulder and resumed their journey to the Hinata House. As they walked he stole a glance at the light-haired girl. _At least Kitsune's sobered up a little, _Keitaro thought. _That should make things easier. _

It was then that Kitsune's head perked up. "Hey, Keitaro? Wha time is it?"  
"Uh, 11:55."

"Oh, the fireworks are gonna start soon. If we stay on this street we're gonna miss 'em."

"Yeah, that's too bad but--" Keitaro began.

"Uh uh, I'm gonna see the fireworks!" exclaimed Kitsune. Suddenly the foxgirl broke from Keitaro's grasp and dashed down an ally. 

"Hey! Come back here!" shouted the ronin.

"Ha ha ha! Run, run, fast as you can, you'll not catch me, I'm Kitsune-chan!" chanted Kitsune as she suddenly made a right turn.

__

Grrr, I should have known that lucid moment she had back there wasn't going to last, thought Keitaro as he chased after his housemate. _Dammit, is nothing easy with this girl!?!_

"Hey, Keitaro! Come catch me!" called Kitsune as she burst out of the ally and charged down a nearby flight of stairs. "If you do I'll give you a surprise!"

_One minute she can hardly walk and the next she's ready to run a marathon. Kitsune and alcohol have one weird relationship_, mused Keitaro as he continued to run. It was then that a thought floated up from the back of the ronin's mind. _Say, for some reason these alleys seem familiar. But I don't think I've been in this part of town since I moved here…_

While he'd been thinking Keitaro had failed to notice that Kitsune had stopped. The young man slowed down and looked around. Much to his surprise he found that he was now standing in the middle of a playground. _Wait a second. I know this place!_

"We should be able to get a great view of the fireworks from here," said Kitsune with a drunken grin.

Keitaro barely heard her. He'd dashed over to the playground's sandbox and was gazing at it intently. _I don't believe it! This is the sandbox where that girl and I made our promise. After all these years it's still here,_ he thought.

"Hey, Keitaro, I liked to play in the sandbox as a kid too but now ain't the time," called Kitsune. "Come on over here an watch za fireworks with me."

The ronin shook his head to clear the dust of old memories from his mind. _Focus, Keitaro. You've got to get Kitsune home, remember? You can come back here and reminisce later._

Keitaro sighed, stood and headed over to the nearby tree that Kitsune stood under. "You're not going to settle down until see the fireworks, are you?"

Kitsune flashed a fox-like grin and shook her head. "Nope!"

"Okay, we'll watch the fireworks from here but then you're going home. No more fooling around."

"Yeah, yeah, what time is it now?"

Keitaro glanced down at his watch. " It's 11: 59 and forty-five seconds." 

He then looked up to see that Kitsune was standing extremely close to him, another seductive look on her face. "Hey, Keitaro, do you remember that surprise I mentioned when you were chasing me? You didn't catch me but you tried hard so I think I'll give it to you anyway."

The young ronin gulped. "N…Now wait a second, Kitsune! I'm flattered and all but you're drunk and--"

The foxgirl put a figure to Keitaro's lips to silence him. Her sexy smile somehow got bigger. "Did you know that in the West it's considered good luck to be kissing someone you care about when the new year comes? I know that New Year's was yesterday and that we're not super close, but what's say we pretend otherwise just this one time?"

Kitsune pulled his finger back and Keitaro was about to speak when her head shot forward to kiss him. As their lips met electricity raced though Keitaro's body. In the skies above the pair fireworks suddenly and colorfully exploded while throughout Hinata City chimes rang to announce the arrival of midnight. 

Given his present circumstances Keitaro failed to notice any of that. All he could focus on was the fact that his body now felt tingly all over and that something soft and wet had just pushed its way into his mouth. The ronin's senses were going into overload as Keitaro tried to think of what to do. Through all the sensory and emotional chaos he was feeling one clear voice suddenly rang out.

**__**

Kiss her back, you idiot!

Keitaro was about to mentally ask himself how to kiss Kitsune back when some buried instinct he'd never known he possessed took over and he began to return the kiss. _This feels even better than I imaged a first kiss would_, Keitaro thought.

At that moment Kitsune broke the kiss and turned to the fireworks that were still erupting in the sky. "Happy Freakin' New Year!" she shouted.

Keitaro didn't hear a word she said. _My first kiss! MY FIRST KISS! I finally had my first kiss! _he mentally shouted. The ronin felt his heart might burst from joy.

Then reality set in like a Su-style kick to the head. _Crap! Kitsune kissed me because she's drunk not because she likes me. And I took advantage of her by kissing her back. I'd better say I'm sorry before something bad happens._

Keitaro glanced at his housemate to see her back to him. "Um, Kitsune?"

"Kei…Keitaro," said the foxgirl weakly.

__

Oh no! She's upset with me! thought Keitaro. _Damn me for kissing her back like that!_

It was then that Kitsune turned around and the ronin could see that her face now had a strong green tint to it. "I…I think I really am gonna puke this time," slurred Kitsune weakly. She then fell to her knees and hunched over.

Keitaro dashed to her side. "Uh, okay, if you have to throw up then do it. Just try not to get any on that kimono you borrowed from Aunt Haruka. If you do she's skin you alive."

Kitsune managed a nod and leaned out a bit further. With a deep heaving sound she then began to throw up. Keitaro glanced away and tried to tune out the sounds the sick girl was making.

"I kiss a girl for the first time and a couple seconds later she's throwing up. I wonder if I should take this as a sign," sighed Keitaro. "At least I managed not to get a nosebleed somehow." 

A short time later Kitsune stopped heaving and Keitaro gently helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"  
"My mouth tastes like a cat box," gurgled the drunken girl.

"The fireworks are over now. Ready to head home?"

Kitsune could only nod weakly.

"Okay then. We'll get you some water to wash the taste of that out of your mouth when we get back to the Hinata," assured Keitaro.

With that the two slowly left the playground.

~*~

For Haruka Urashima life seemed pretty good at the moment. Business at the teahouse she ran had been brisk and profitable today. Hopefully a sign of things to come in the new year. She'd just finished watching a very impressive fireworks show and all that remained was a final sweep of her shop's front before it would be time to call it a night.

Haruka subscribed to the theory that the front of one's shop was the same as a person's face. If her shop's face looked good then business would be good to. That philosophy had earned Haruka a good living for several years and she wasn't about to change her ways in that regard anytime soon. That belief, and a strange almost Zen-like feeling that come from such activity, was the reason she swept her shopfront several times each day.

So it was for that reason that Haruka was in a position to see an unusual sight as it made it's way down the streets. 

"Ha, ha, ha! You and me! Little brown jug, don't I love thee!" sang Kitsune merrily as she stumbled down the street. Keitaro still had one of her arms tossed over his shoulder and an arm around her waist. His efforts were all that kept the intoxicated girl from falling flat on her face.

"Well, well. What have we here?" pondered Haruka as she took a puff from her ever-present cigarette.

As Kitsune sang Keitaro mentally glowered. _Not five minutes ago she was puking her guts out and now she's singing again. It's like Kitsune is some kind of human yo-yo tonight. Up one second and down the next. Thank god we're almost home!_

"Hey, Keitaro, you finally got yourself a girlfriend I see," called Haruka to her nephew. "It's about time. Though I can't say I pictured Kitsune as your type."

"Aunt Haruka!" squawked Keitaro as he caught sight of the older woman. The look on Naru's face as she hit after the incident at the prize booth suddenly flashed into his mind. "Don't say things like that! Kitsune had too much to drink at the shrine festival so I'm taking her home. That's all, I swear!"

Haruka couldn't help but take a little pleasure in teasing her nephew. The poor boy was such an easy mark with anything related to girls. "All right, if you say so."

"Keitaro's gonna take me home and put me to bed," cooed Kitsune as she suddenly glomped Keitaro. The ronin gave a shout of surprise and instantly began to try and disentangle himself.

"Are you sure about not having a girlfriend, Keitaro?" grinned Haruka as she took another puff. "Kitsune seems awful fond of you tonight."

_You don't know the half of it,_ thought the ronin as he finally managed to get Kitsune off him. "She's been…affectionate since I found her passed out back at the shrine. But it's just the booze talking. What are you doing here this late anyway, Aunt Haruka?"

"Most places are closed on New Year's Day," began Haruka. "Being one of the few places that's open is good business. That really paid off when one of my best customers and several of his friends dropped by just before closing. He's a big spender so I was willing to stay open late for him. By the time he and his pals left it was almost time for the fireworks so I grabbed a bit of sake and climbed up on the roof to enjoy the show."

"Ya wouldn't happen to have any of that sake left, would ya?" asked Kitsune eagerly.

"Oh no, you've had quite enough," reprimanded Keitaro. Kitsune huffed and began to pout. The ronin sighed again and looked back at his aunt. "Isn't the roof a little dangerous place to be hanging out if you're drinking?"

Haruka made a dismissive noise. "I re-shingled the roof of his place all by myself three years ago rather than pay the outrageous fee the roofer wanted. So I'm just fine up there. Besides, I've always had perfect balance. The little bit of sake I had didn't do much besides help keep me warm."

Keitaro just nodded. _Aunt Haruka's one tough lady. I hope I can be as cool and confident as she is some day._

"It was nice talking to you, Aunt Haruka," said Keitaro. "But I'd better get Kitsune home now. Despite how she's acting now she's also felt sick while I was bringing her here. So I'd better get her to bed as quick as possible."

"See, Haruka! Your nephew *is* trying to get me into bed!" chuckled Kitsune.

"Dammit, stop saying stuff like that!" shouted Keitaro as he flushed red. Kitsune giggled a bit as the ronin again started to lead her toward the Hinata.

"Hey, Keitaro," called Haruka. The ronin turned, looking puzzled. Haruka gave nephew a smile. "I've known Kitsune for a long time so I know what a handful she can be when she's gone over that very impressive limit of hers. You're doing a good job looking after her like that. Grandma Hinata would be proud of you. And, as a former landlord of the Hinata House, I think you're doing pretty good too."

Keitaro blinked for a moment at his aunt's praise then smiled. "Thanks a lot, Aunt Haruka. That means a lot."

Haruka just nodded in response. "Okay, enough chit chat. Get Kitsune home so she can start sleeping off all the sake she's had."

"I will," assured Keitaro. He then turned and with Kitsune still hanging off him headed into the night.

Haruka took a long drag off her cigarette. "Since he came here most of Keitaro's attention in regards to the girls has been focused on Naru. I know they're as different as night and day, but I wonder if this could be the start of something between him and Kitsune. After all, it's been ages since she had a boyfriend and Keitaro does have a sincere, if awkward, charm about him."

Haruka exhaled and watched the smoke float through the air for a moment. "Nah, I'm just being silly. Those to could never work as a couple."

Haruka then glanced up at the hill where the Hinata House sat. "Then again, stranger things have happened. I guess only time will tell. Whatever the case, I have a feeling we're all in for a very interesting year."

~*~

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" winced Naru as she leaned on Motoko for balance.

"We are almost to the top of the Hinata's stairs," said Motoko. "Just try to be careful."

"It's a little late for careful," grumbled Naru as she and her housemate climbed another stair. "I should have known better than to try and run while wearing a kimono. If I'd just slowed down I wouldn't have fallen and twisted my ankle and we would have been here ages ago. Are positive it's not broken? Because it sure does hurt."

"I am quite well versed in diagnosing such injuries due to my kendo training. Put some ice on your ankle and do not exert yourself and you will be fine in a few days," assured Motoko.

"Oh, thank god, we're finally done with the stairs," said Naru as she and her companion reached the top of the climb to the Hinata House.

"That is all well and good, but we must still ascertain if anything undue has or is transpiring between Keitaro and Kitsune. I would suggest we check her room first."

"Which is on the second floor which means more stairs," moaned Naru. The dark-haired girl then shook her head and brought a determined look to her face. "Right, to Kitsune's room, all speed!"

A minute later, after a brief but painful battle with a staircase, the two made their way to Kitsune's door. Motoko then leaned her head down by the door and listened. "There is one person inside. From the way they are breathing I would say they are asleep."

_Wow, those fighting instincts of Motoko's are amazing_, marveled Naru. She then said, "I guess that's a good sign, but I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't see with my own eyes that she's okay."

"Though it is a great violation of a person's privacy to enter their room without permission, under the circumstances I fear we have no choice."

"She's my friend so let me be the one to go in first."

Motoko nodded as quickly stood aside. Naru then quietly opened the door and the two went inside. Once in their housemate's room Motoko and Naru could clearly see Kitsune covered with a blanket, sleeping soundly on her futon. Naru went over to her friend and lifted up the blanket.

"Her kimono's still tied tight as far as I can tell. So I don't think anyone has messed with her clothes," reported Naru softly. "Looks like Keitaro managed to keep himself under control for a change."

"Thinking the worst of our housemates is a poor way to start this new year," said Motoko. "Though we acted from honest concern, I feel we may have gone a bit far this time. Since nothing is amiss let us return to our respective rooms and pretend none of this occurred."

Naru nodded and the two quietly slipped back into the hall.

"Naru? Motoko? What are you guys doing here?"

The two girls stiffened at the sound and then whipped around to see Keitaro standing in front of the door to his room which was just down the hall. For some reason the ronin now had on a blue and white yukata bathrobe.

"Ura…Urashima, what are you doing here?!" fumbled Motoko. 

Keitaro blinked. "Um, I live in this room right here. What are you two doing over by Kitsune's room? In fact, what are you doing here at all? I thought the shrine festival was supposed to go on for at least another hour after the fireworks ended."

_Great! Now of all times he decides to be observant_, thought Naru. Then inspiration struck. "What are we doing here? Uh, you see, I slipped back at the shrine and twisted my ankle. It was really hurting so Motoko helped me walk back here. Shinobu and Su told us about Kitsune so we wanted to check on her before we went to bed."

"Oh, I see," said Keitaro. "Yeah, it took longer than I thought it would to get her home. But once we got here she had a glass of water and went to bed without too much of a fuss." 

__

And, mercifully, a minimum of suggestive talk, he mentally added. "I wasn't too keen on letting her sleep in that kimono, but there wasn't anything I could do about that."

"We promised to wash the kimonos before returning them to Haruka," recalled Motoko. "It should not be too difficult to get any wrinkles caused by sleeping in one out then."

"That's true," concurred Keitaro. "Good thinking, Motoko." 

"Say, Keitaro, why you are wearing that yukata at this time of night?" asked Naru, just to make sure nothing funny had gone on.

Keitaro glanced down at his robe and then looked back at the girls. "Oh, this? I figured you girls would be at the shrine for a pretty good while longer so I went down to the main bath area for a quick soak. I hardly ever get to use the baths down there after all."

Naru and Motoko stole a quick look at each other. All the evidence was pointing to nothing having happened between their housemates.

"Hey, where are Shinobu and Su?" asked the ronin. 

Naru was about to reply when a voice suddenly called out, "Sempai, we're right here."

Naru, Motoko and Keitaro turned to see Shinobu and Su heading down the hall.

"Su, Shinobu, how did you get here so quickly?" said Motoko. "The fireworks didn't end long enough ago for you to have walked here."

"After the fireworks were over we did just like you said and talked to the head shire keeper," relied Shinobu. "He managed to borrow a car from someone and dropped us off at the main stairs just a minute ago."

"He was really nice!" informed Su as she pulled a small purple bag from within her kimono. "He said we reminded him of his granddaughters and gave each of us a bag of candy."

"Su, not so loud!" hissed Naru. "Kitsune's sleeping."

"It is late and it has been a long day. Perhaps we should all retire now," suggested Motoko.

The others, even Su, quietly agreed and made their way to their respective room. Thus ended what had been a memorable day.

~*~

"Thank you for helping me clear away the dishes, sempai," said Shinobu, cheerfully.

"No problem," assured Keitaro as he helped the Hinata's resident ace cook clear away the breakfast dishes. Due to the late night at the shrine everyone had opted to sleep in. But her unofficial duty as head chef had spurred Shinobu to be the first one up. As always she prepared a wonderful meal and soon all the Hinata's residents had come wandering in to eat. Everyone accept Kitsune. But missing meals due to the need to sleep off a drinking binge was nothing new for the foxgirl so everyone was content to let her be. 

After he had finished eating Keitaro recalled his thoughts from the night before about Shinobu's strong sense of responsibility. On the spot he then made a resolution to help the girl who called him sempai out a bit more and to make sure that the residents of the Hinata knew how much they appreciated Shinobu's hard work.

"Uh, sempai?"

"Yes, Shinobu?"

"I have some reading one of my teachers assigned me over school break. But I'm having a bit of trouble with some of the plot points on one of the books I'm supposed to read. Could you please help me?"

Pride swelled in Keitaro's chest. He treasured the way the younger girl looked up to him. "Of course, I'll be glad to help you. Which book is it?"

"A famous British novel called _David Copperfield_ by Charles Dickens," said Shinobu.

"Ah, I read that when I was about your age," replied Keitaro. "It's a great story." 

Just then the phone in the living room rang. "I'll get it," called Shinobu as she raced of to get the phone.

As she dashed off Keitaro gave a small smile. _Shinobu's such a great girl. I can tell she's going to go really far in life someday_, the ronin thought.

"Hey, any food left?" said a weak and tired voice. Keitaro turned to see Kitsune, now dressed in a rumbled tanktop and shorts standing in the dinning room doorway.

"Hi, Kitsune, good to see you're awake. We didn't know when you'd wake up so Shinobu left you some food in the fridge."

"Good," nodded the foxgirl. "Is there any aspirin around? My head's killing me and I couldn't find any in the bathroom."

"Are you still feeling sick like you were last night?" asked Keitaro.

"I don't have a clue about how I was feeling last night," shrugged Kitsune. "I don't remember a thing I did last night after about that twentieth cup of sake."

Keitaro could feel the color drain from his face as his world fell out from under him. _She…doesn't remember?! She gives me my first kiss and she doesn't even remember!?_

The ronin's emotional plummet was broken when Kitsune spoke again. "Hey, Keitaro, my head really is killing me. Is there any aspirin *anywhere* in the house?"

Somehow Keitaro managed to pull himself back to reality. "Uh, yeah, I have some in my room. I'll just go get it."

With his emotions now in a maelstrom yet again, Keitaro silently headed back to his room. _Two steps forward, one step back_, he thought. _Just like always._

"What's his problem?" wondered the shorthaired girl as she watched Keitaro wander off in a zombie-like state.

"Kitsune! Phone call!" called Shinobu from the other room.

"Dammit! Not so loud. My head is killing me," winced Kitsune as she headed for the living room. There Shinobu stood, phone in hand, waiting. 

"Who is it anyway?"

"I don't know. They wouldn't say," informed Shinobu. "All they said was that they wanted to talk to you."  
Kitsune frowned and picked up the receiver. She then waited until Shinobu had headed back into the other room before speaking.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Kitsune-chan! Happy belated New Year!"

At the sound of the voice on the other end of the line the foxgirl went stiff and nearly dropped the phone. It was about the last person on earth she could have expected.

"Mom?!"

****

To Be Continued…

****

Author's Notes: Surprise, surprise, I'm at it again. And this time I'm actually doing an alternative pairing fic. No, I don't know what's wrong with me either. I guess all that time I've spent hanging around other fanfic authors rubbed off on me. A pox on all your houses for doing this to me!

Anyway, so why Keitaro and Kitsune? I'm not 100% sure. Part of it had to do with Kitsune being my favorite LH character. There was also the fact that Keitaro/Kitsune was an idea that that really hadn't been explored much by other LH authors. So I thought I'd give it a shot. 

Plus, she and Keitaro are so totally different I knew that having them get together would be a challenge and I like a challenge. I also don't have much experience at writing romance so there was another challenge.

As you can see I've branched off from the canon _Love Hina_ timeline and made a few changes to better suit my story. At this point the main thing that's changed, of course, is who Keitaro's first kiss was. As you can guess this is going to have some major consequences down the road. I'll leave you to pick out the smaller changes.

Also, Keitaro's going to be paying more attention to the role Shinobu plays in the Hinata household. I really love the dynamic between those two and plan to have a lot of fun toying with that.

The other big change was that Kitsune was much more drunk in this story than in the New Year story in the manga. That was because I needed **A**) her to be out of it to a degree that Keitaro would feel she couldn't take care of herself and would be compelled to take her home and **B**) to give a plausible reason for her mood shifts.

I'm sure the last word of this chapter came as a surprise. I checked a lot of LH sites on the net and really wasn't able to find anything on Kitsune's life before she came to the Hinata House. That being the case I figured I had full lease to make up whatever I wanted. So we'll be delving into Kitsune's past and seeing how she ended up becoming who she is and what led her to the Hinata. After all, all the girls are at the Hinata for *some* reason.

Not knowing much about a character's past is both good and bad. It's bad in that you don't have anything to go on and as such you've got to make up everything and make sure it hangs together. One the other hand you're free make up whatever you want. 

So I sat down and really did some thinking about Kitsune and her personality and tried to see if I could infer anything about her past. If nothing else I got to use a few things I learned in my Psychology 101 class. I'm no Frasier Crane, but I think I came up with some stuff that's both and interesting and fits with what we know of Kitsune. But I leave it to you the reader to be the ultimate judge.

Okay, I think I've rambled enough. There were a few little injokes in this story that I'll now point out for those who may have missed them.

I chose to use the name Hinata House because that's what's used in the official English version of the manga. However, Kitsune is still a part-time job-hopper. I have no idea where that freelance journalist stuff that was in the manga came from. My knowledge of kanji isn't the best, but I checked with some people whose Japanese is better than mine and they all agreed that job-hopper was the correct translation.

I chose to spell Su's name as s-u because, well, that's how it's spelled on *every* official bit of Love Hina merchandise. Heck, you can even clearly see that her name is spelled s-u *in English* in the opening to the anime. 

The s-u-u thing is people just being to literal with translation of the katakana used to write her name. But anyone who's taken any Japanese can tell you when romanizing Japanese words you don't always write every character. Heck, if you take the characters used to write Tokyo and romanize all of them then Tokyo would be spelled t-o-k-y-o-u. 

I think we can all agree that that's not right. 

Choosing to title Keitaro's fortune "Strange Luck" was a tip of the hat to an old, short-lived Fox show also called _Strange Luck_ that used to air just before the _X-Files_. I thought _Strange Luck_ was a cool show and was sad when it was cancelled. 

__

I don't have a gambler's spirit when it comes to my future happiness.

Fans of _Final Fantasy X_ will recognize Gambler's Spirit as an item you can get in the game. I'm a big FF fan, so this likely won't be the last _Final Fantasy_ joke I toss in.

__

What if ants wore hats?

This is an odd little expression I coined myself. I tossed it in because it seemed to suit the moment and it's funny, IMO.

__

"Says you and the Borg!" retorted Keitaro as he ran.

I've seen _Star Wars_ references in _Love Hina_ several times. So I thought it only fair that _Star Trek_ get some screen time. I always liked _Star Trek_ better anyway. Plus, in an odd bit of coincidence, Anthony Montgomery, who plays Travis Mayweather on _Enterprise_, is a graduate of my university (as is David Letterman).

There were little extra meanings to all the study questions. The people mentioned in the first question are all real famous Japanese authors that most people over there would know. As an American it's sometimes hard to keep the Japanese flavor in fanfic. Hopefully little touches like that make up for that a bit.

If you look carefully at the choices for the second question you'll notice that the lakes are listed in a way that spells h-o-m-e-s. That's an old trick for remembering the names of all five of the Great Lakes. Since I'm originally from the Great Lakes region I wanted to toss in a little reference to my lovely little bit of America. 

Of course, the place seems a little less lovely when you wake up on winter mornings to discover that, thanks to what people native to the region call "the lake effect", your car has been covered in six inches of snow overnight.

The Kansas question was a nod to, as you may have guessed, the excellent TV show _Smallville_. Plus, since geography is one of my college majors (the other being Japanese) I couldn't resist the chance to play geography teacher for a moment. 

Since I'm a geography student I take a silly bit of pride in the fact that I know the capitals of all 50 states. But Kansas is one of those states I always have to think about for a second.

It was actually the poem "The Road Not Taken" that planted the idea to do this story in my head. So I put it in to reflect that.

__

She doesn't do it as much now, but she really liked to read when she was in high school. She's got quite the collection of stuff stashed in a box in her closet.

In the story where Keitaro gets sick Kitsune reads to him from a book called _Dialogues_. After some research I found out that's it's a philosophical story about angels and demons and their relationship to God, Heaven and Hell. Not really what you'd expect Kitsune to read, huh? 

__

There was also a small, pink nadesico flower in her hair and a brown stole wrapped around her shoulders.

The truth is I've got no idea what kind of flower Naru had in her hair in the New Year's story. I picked a nadesico flower as homage to the anime show _Martian Successor Nadesico_.

The KeroKero doll is a silly homage to the character Miho from the game _Tokimeki Memorial 2,_ who is a big KeroKero fan. Since I'm a big fan of all the TM games I wanted to have little reference to it this story. Though for the record my favorite girl from TM2 was Kaori with Kasumi as a close second. 

__

"Carpe diem_ time, Keitaro," whispered Kitsune, softly._

A _Dead Poet's Society_ reference. But I'm sure you knew that. ;)

I know that Keitaro and Kitsune are both twenty. What Kitsune meant when she referred to herself as "an older girl" she didn't mean older in the literal sense. She meant it in that she's clearly more worldly and experienced in a lot of life's matters than Keitaro is. She's certainly much more comfortable with her sexuality.

Also, check out the version of that scene in the manga. Kitsune calls herself older there. Given the circumstances I couldn't explain that she was speaking metaphorically at the time. I figured that most people would understand what I meant, but thought it best to make perfectly clear here. 

The devil & angel bit was an idea that came out of left field but one I knew I had to run with. As for the way Keitaro sees Kitsune according to Devil Haitani and Angel Shinobu, well, everyone has both good and bad feeling about the people in their lives. Sometimes you might think someone you care about is great and another time you might feel like they're an ass. That's just life so try not to read too much into Devil Haitani's words.

That's just what the little bastard wants.

The _Cheers_ joke just seemed so Kitsune I had to put it in there. The same with "Little Brown Jug". Sure, it isn't very likely that Japanese people would know those songs, but I figured what the hell. It's funny and this is just fanfic.

__

"Ha ha ha! Run, run, fast as you can, you'll not catch me, I'm Kitsune-chan!" chanted Kitsune as she suddenly hung a right turn.

Believe it or not, when I wrote that I thought it was just a reference to _Batman: The Animated Series_. In one episode the Joker mocks Batman by going "Run, run, fast as you can, you'll not catch me, I'm the Joker Man!" 

But it was then pointed out to me that the Joker was referencing the fairy tale of the Gingerbread Man. The thing is, after racking my brain, I was only able to come up with a vague memory of a story about a Gingerbread Man coming to life. I honestly don't remember anything else about the story. I guess that story just wasn't in any of the fairy tale books I had as a kid.

I put Haruka in simply because I like her a lot. I plan on having her be around in this story more than she was in the manga. Given that she's something of the Hinata House matriarch it always seemed odd to me that she wasn't around the house more.

__

"A famous British novel called David Copperfield_ by Charles Dickens," said Shinobu._

I was actually stuck for a time as to what book for Shinobu to being reading. It was going to be _To Kill a Mocking Bird_ for a while. Both the book and movie are great. But I wanted something sort of reflective of Keitaro. _David Copperfield_ and its story of a young man's climb to success seemed to fit. 

Plus, I think David Copperfield the magician is really cool. My dad got me his autograph years ago, which I still have.

Anyway, I think I've babbled enough. Before I go I just want to say it'll be a while before the next chapter is out. College classes, my FF.N column, some other fanfics that are still in the fire, and trying to have a social life eat up a lot of my time. But I *will* get back to this story.

Until next time then.


	2. Someone to Listen to Me

__

I never worry

Now that is a lie

****

from "Under the Bridge" by _The Red Hot Chili Peppers_

Kitsune held the top of the sake bottle under her nose and took a deep whiff. Her nostrils felt a moment of both burning and tingling. That smell had long been a small comfort to the foxgirl but today it was of no help. Kitsune sighed and just poured herself another glass of sake anyway.

Once that was done Kitsune looked down at her drink and could see her own face reflected in the sake. A weary face floated in the rice wine. She looked away.

"I really can't believe this is happening," sighed the girl to herself. "Damn mom and her so-called 'good news'. That was really just her way of hinting to me what she and dad are likely planning for me. They're so transparent sometimes."

Kitsune grimaced at the thought and took a deep drink of sake. Once she'd gulped it down she stood and began to pace; both the sake bottle and half-full cup still in her hands. "They've barely been involved in my life for the past couple of years and now this. Sure, mom didn't out and out *say* anything about what's happening to them having any big affect on me, but I can read between the lines. And the message is 'The good times at the Hinata are over!'."

Kitsune stopped her pacing and glowered. "Damn them both! All my life when I was with them in was this emotional roller coaster ride. Up and down, up and down. Family life is good, family life is hell. 

"When it finally got to be too much for all of us they sent me here. Amazingly enough, here turns out to be a good place and I end up being happier than I can ever remember being since I was real little. I graduated high school, carved out a little niche for myself and now just went where life took me. I had sake; I had a place to call home, good friends…the whole deal. But now they drop this on me. It's…it's…"

The anger within her had stolen the foxgirl's words. Unable to express herself any other way Kitsune hurled the glass of sake to the floor and watched as it shattered. Silence reigned supreme as she watched the alcohol spread across the floor.

"Kitsune?" called Naru's voice several moments later. "What's going on in there? I heard something break."

Her friend's voice brought the troubled girl back to reality. "Oh, uh, Naru, um, just a little accident. Everything's cool," Kitsune stammered.

Naru pulled the room's door open and stepped inside. "It sounded to me like glass breaking. You didn't cut yourself or anything did you?"

Kitsune waved her right hand in a protesting gesture while holding up the bottle of sake with the other. "No, no, I'm fine. I just tripped and dropped a glass of this stuff. It's a damn shame too. This sake was expensive."

Naru studied her friend's face for a moment. The longhaired girl had a sense her friend wasn't telling her something. "Are you sure? You seem a bit…off. Is everything okay?"

__

Damn, Naru knows me too well, Kitsune thought. _If she finds out what's going on this will turn into one big drama scene that I don't need right now. I better get her out of her fast._

"Yeah, everything is fine," assured Kitsune. "I'm just still a little out of sorts from all that sake I had last night."

For several long moments Naru studied her friend trying to determine is she was really just hungover or if something more was going on. But Kitsune just flashed one of her drunken grins. Her friend proving to be unreadable for the moment, Naru just shook her head. "You got so drunk you couldn't even walk yourself home last night and now you're drinking again. No wonder you're tripping over your own feet."

"Yeah, yeah," said Kitsune. "Look, if I promise not to drink anymore until after dinner will you get off my case? You've got that 'I'm going to give you a lecture' look on your face you sometimes get and I'm too hungover to listen to it."

"Oh, all right," sighed Naru. "But remember, you promised."

"I know," replied Kitsune. "Not to be rude, but could you leave me alone for awhile? I think I feel a headache coming on."

"Okay," said Naru and she turned and headed for the door. "Just be sure to clean up that glass right away. If you don't you might end up cutting your feet."

"Right, right. I'll go get a dustpan in a minute. But now could you just leave me be?"

Naru gave her friend one last concerned look before stepping out of the room and closing the door. Kitsune stood unmoving until the sound of her friend's footsteps vanished. The foxgirl then glanced down at the broken glass on the floor. "Well, *that* was unnecessarily dramatic of me. A real soap opera moment," she grumbled to herself. 

In an effort to drive her concerns from her mind, even if it was just for a moment, Kitsune decided to start fulfilling her promise to Naru. She put the bottle of sake away, retrieved a dustpan and broom from a nearby closet and quickly cleaned up and disposed of the broken glass. The sake she'd been drinking had been a clear brand, so the foxgirl took a moment to be glad there would be no stain on her room's carpet. With those tasks done Kitsune plopped lengthwise down onto her couch. 

She lay there for a time, trying not to think of anything. But a feeling of dread continued to gnaw at her from the bottom of her stomach. Suddenly the foxgirl gave a little laugh. "Where's all that good luck that damn fortune I got yesterday at now? I wonder if I were to tell Motoko about this if it would change her mind about just how accurate those stupid fortune are." 

Kitsune then sighed and exhaled deeply. "Yeah, right, tell Motoko. She may be an ace with that sword but emotional stuff like this is out of her league." 

Again Kitsune just lay for a time. The same emotions run through her again and again until she could take it no more. Suddenly the foxgirl sat up and slammed a fist into the cushions in frustration. "Gaaah! This is driving me crazy! I've got to tell *someone* about this or I'm gonna go nuts!"

The foxgirl then stood and again began to pace like a caged tiger. "Okay, so I've got to tell someone what's happening or have a mental breakdown. But whom can I tell? I can't tell Naru. Since she knows all about my parents she'd probably understand what mom was hinting at. That's sure to cause her to have some sort of emotional freakout. She'd probably start hovering over me like a mother hen too. I don't need that and she's got the entrance exams for Tokyo University coming up soon. I can't burden her with this now. 

"I can't tell Motoko, Shinobu or Su either. Shinobu was just cry and I'd feel awful if I did that to her. Like I said before, Motoko isn't equipped for this emotional stuff. Heck, knowing what a traditional girl she is, she'd likely just tell me I should respect and go along with what my parents want. That's the last thing I wanna hear right now. There's no telling how Su would react if I told her. Besides, she's just a kid and I don't want to drop this on her. 

"I might be able to talk to Haruka. She and I always have gotten along really well. But she knows a lot of the history with my folks and me too. Plus, she's spent a lot of time being the responsible adult around here. She might even take my parent's side. I'd really rather not have this drive a wedge between us."

Kitsune felt the dread within her grow a bit. She gazed listlessly at the wall as she mentally hit her last option. "So that just leaves…Keitaro." 

Kitsune ran a hand through her hair and continued to look at the wall. "For all his faults Keitaro does really seem to care about all of us that live here. He's easy to talk to and doesn't know about my past. Plus, he's pretty easy to manipulate so it would be a snap to convince him not to say anything." 

At that the turbulent emotions within Kitsune seemed to abate, if just for now. The foxgirl allowed herself a genuine smile. "Newsflash, Keitaro; the job of sympathetic ear has just been added to your list of manager's duties." 

~*~

Meanwhile, in Shinobu's room, the Hinata's youngest resident was sitting on her bed and in the midst of an important decision." Hhhmmm, what should I call you?" asked Shinobu as she looked at the KeroKero doll Keitaro had given her the night before. The doll had no reply so the girl just continued to think. 

"I don't normally give my stuffed animals names," explained Shinobu to the doll. "But you were a gift from sempai and that makes you special. So you have to have a special name. I just have to think of one. Something other than KeroKero."

"What's a KeroKero? Can you eat it?" came a voice from behind. 

Shinobu jumped to her feet in surprise and whipped around. Beside her suddenly stood Su looking at the doll in her arms intently.

"Kyah! Su, please don't sneak up on me like that!" said Shinobu. Su scratched the back of her head and grinned. "Sorry, Shinobu. But like I said, can you eat a KeroKero? Whatever that is."

"KeroKero is the name of the character this doll is based on," explained the shorthaired girl. "In Japanese 'kero' means 'frog'."

"Oh, a froggy! I get it!"

Shinobu blinked and looked at the doll. "Froggy?"

"Froggy! Froggy! Frog's legs!" cheered Su. "Now I'm really hungry!"

Shinobu wasn't fully listening. She just continued to look at the doll and think of Keitaro. She then smiled. "Su, I've just thought of the perfect name for my doll. I'm going to call him Mr. Froggy."

"Sounds good to me," said Su as she gave two thumbs up. "Say, Shinobu, now that you're done with that could you fix me something to eat? I'm hungry!"

Shinobu just smiled at her odd friend. "Sure. Just let me put Mr. Froggy away. Then I'll fix you something to eat." 

The young girl then headed over to a dresser near her bed and carefully placed the doll on top. _That's perfect_, she thought. _Now Mr. Froggy can watch over me in my sleep. The same way I wish that sem…_

Shinobu blushed at that thought. She then turned back to her waiting friend. "Okay, Kaolla. I'll fix you something now."

"Can it be frog's legs?" inquired the foreign girl excitedly.

"Uh, I don't have the ingredients to make frog's legs," said Shinobu uncomfortably. "How about some miso soup instead?"

"Great!" exclaimed Su. "Can we play after that?"

Shinobu could feel Su's energy and enthusiasm in the air. That combined with the warm feelings that had been stirred up by the doll and thoughts of Keitaro had put her in a good mood that was higher than the one the earnest girl was normally in. Some time playing with her friend seemed like the perfect companion piece to all that.

"Sure," smiled Shinobu. "After you eat we'll play for a while."

"Yay!" cheered Su as she bounded out of the room. 

Shinobu took a moment to enjoy the other girl's happiness before following quickly behind her. 

~*~

In the Hinata's laundry room Keitaro was pulling clothes out of the dryer by the armload. Though laundry was normally one of Shinobu's chores, the Hinata residents each took a turn at washing clothes every so often so as to not put too much stress on the young girl. Today happened to Keitaro's turn.

In short order Keitaro had the entire load put into a laundry basket. Now he had to take the basket around to each of the girls' room. The girls would then pick out what was theirs. When one of the girls did this chore they'd separate the clothes out by person first. But Keitaro had been forbidden from going through the girls' clothes for obvious reasons. So with the basket now full he headed for the main living area.

"Let's see, Kitsune wasn't feeling too well at breakfast this morning," Keitaro said to himself. "So she's likely still in her room. I guess that makes her as good a place to start as any."

As he headed for the second floor the ronin's mind drifted back to the night before and the kiss the foxgirl had given him. "I can't believe she was so drunk she doesn't even remember kissing me," he sighed. "I always thought my first kiss would be something the both the girl and I would remember. Something special like that shouldn't be forgotten. 

"Well…it was special to me. Who knows how Kitsune would feel if she remembered. She's pretty unpredictable."

Keitaro shook his head as he continued to walk. "On the other hand, maybe this is for the best. Things could get uncomfortable around here if they other girls knew Kitsune and I kissed. Even if it was because she was really drunk and she kissed me first. Living here and being with the girls means a lot to me. I don't want anything getting in the way of that."

Keitaro was so lost in thought he failed to notice a banana peel lying on the floor. In a moment straight out of an old comedy movie, the ronin's foot stepped on the peel and he went flying feet first into the air along with all the laundry. The ronin landed on the floor hard amidst a rain of clothes.

Keitaro had been momentarily stunned when he'd hit the floor. As he opened his eyes he realized that something made of cloth was covering his face. He pulled the article off as he sat up. "Ugh!" grimaced Keitaro as he looked down to see that he was holding a pair of his own boxer shorts.

The ronin then looked at the floor and saw the banana peel lying there. "Dammit, I've told Su a hundred times to make sure she always throws stuff like that in the trash. I'm lucky I didn't break something."

Muttering to himself in mild annoyance, Keitaro began to gather up the clothes. He stopped suddenly as he felt his hand close on something soft and lacey. He looked down to see a pair of black thong panties in his hand. The ronin gulped.

__

There's only one person these could belong to, Keitaro thought. _Nobody but Kitsune would own something like this. God, these look *so* naughty. I've seen the girls in some of my magazines wear things like this. When they actually had clothes on, that is._

"Damn you, Keitaro Urashima!" boomed a voice suddenly. "Once again I find you engaged in the most base of perversions!"

Keitaro felt his blood run cold as he turned to see Motoko standing behind him. Her sword was drawn and there was a look of righteous anger on her face. 

"W-Wa-Wait a second, Motoko! I know how this looks but it's not what you think! I swear!" he sputtered.

"I will hear none of your lies, Urashima!" retorted the kendo girl. "Now face my blade's punishment! BURNING THUNDER STRIKE!"

Motoko's sword swung toward the Hinata's manager almost faster than the human eye could follow. There was a loud boom like a thunderclap and Keitaro went sailing and screaming through the air and out a nearby window that was conveniently open.

As Keitaro's scream faded into the distance Motoko allowed herself a small smile of self-congratulation. "The justice of my blade is swift and true. That pervert will think twice before attempting to rifle through our undergarments again."

Just then Kitsune poked her head out of her room. "Hey, what's all the noise about? I was trying to take a nap." 

"I caught Keitaro fondling a pair of someone's undergarments. He has been dealt with," informed Motoko simply as she pointed at the black panties in question with the blade of her sword.

"That would explain the screaming," said Kitsune as she picked up her underwear. She looked at them and then gave Motoko one of her best foxgirl grins. "Hey, Motoko, you really should get yourself some undies like this. They'd be dynamite on a girl with a figure like yours."

Motoko flushed a very deep shade of red. "Such…apparel is unbecoming for a warrior. It implies…questionable moral character."

__

She can swing a sword like Musashi but she's as prudish as an old lady sometimes, thought Kitsune. _Which makes Motoko all the more fun to tease. And a little teasing is just what I need to cheer me up right now_.

"Come on, Motoko," said Kitsune, her voice full of mischief. "A warrior is supposed to use every advantage they have to win, right?"

Motoko could feel that Kitsune was setting her up for something but was clueless as to exactly what. Her only option for now seemed to be to play the foxgirl's game. "That is indeed true."

"Then you should try using a little sex appeal! Flashing a panty thong at the right moment is the perfect thing to distract a male opponent."

Motoko somehow managed to even redder. "Such, um…tactics are dishonorable and unbecoming of a true warrior."

"Oh, come on," prodded the foxgirl. "Don't tell you intend to tape down your breasts and wear that boring, vanilla panties your whole life. You need to get yourself something like this and really show off what that body of yours can do!"

Motoko's face lost it's composure and turned as red as the hakama of her training outfit. "I…shall take your advice under consideration. Now if you'll excuse my I have some katas I must practice."

With that the kendo girl dashed off as fast as her legs could take her.

Kitsune just chuckled to herself. "That was fun. I swear, when I'm not dealing with Naru and Keitaro's kindergarten love antics I should spend some more time trying to get Motoko to act like a real girl. It's almost as entertaining."

Just then Kitsune heard someone coming up the second floor steps. She turned and moments later a somewhat battered Keitaro appeared. "Hey, Keitaro, how'd you get back here so quick? Normally it takes you a little while to walk back after Motoko or Naru send you into orbit."

"I guess you could say I got lucky," sighed Keitaro as he picked a scrap of a leaf from his hair. "If you count getting clotheslined by one of the trees outside lucky. Still, I guess it did save me a walk."

__

Say, now's my chance to get Keitaro alone where I can talk to him, the foxgirl thought. _Now's not a good time for our little chat since everyone is running around the house doing whatever. Better to wait until after dinner_. 

Her plan of action decided, Kitsune suddenly gave Keitaro a sexy grin. "Say, Keitaro, I was wondering something."

"Uh, yes, Kitsune," gulped the ronin.

Kitsune moved in, still smiling, until she was very close to the Hinata's manager. Keitaro began to sweat. 

"You see, Keitaro, something's happened," she began, her voice still sexy but also earnest. "It's something very personal and need some I can talk to about it."

"I'm, uh, flattered, Kitsune," said Keitaro who was now blushing deeply. "But wouldn't Naru be the person to talk to? She is you best friend after."

The mention of Naru made playing sexy suddenly lose its appeal. Kitsune took a step back and looked to the floor. "This is something I can't tell Naru about. It's something she's close to. I don't she'd handle what I have to tell her well," she said with sudden seriousness

To that Keitaro had no response. He reached out a hand to try and touch the foxgirl's shoulder to comfort her. "Kitsune…"

The foxgirl suddenly turned her back on the ronin. "This is something I have to talk with you about, Keitaro. You're the only one I can discuss this with. It's complicated that way."

Keitaro stopped his hand in midair. A bit of pain had creeped into Kitsune's words. It was so subtle Keitaro wondered if even she'd even noticed.

"Uh, okay, Kitsune. I understand. What's the problem?"

"Not here and now," said Kitsune as she turned around, a look of relief flashing momentarily across her face. "Meet me on the roof about twenty minutes after dinner. We can be alone then."

"Uh, okay," Keitaro nodded.

"Great! I'll see you then," exclaimed the foxgirl who suddenly seemed her old self again. She then turned and headed back into room. A moment later her head popped back out again.

"Keitaro?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep this to yourself, okay?"

The ronin nodded again and Kitsune vanished back into her room. 

Keitaro stood blinking for a moment and then quickly gathered up the laundry on the floor. Then he silently went to his room. 

~*~

Kitsune plopped lengthwise onto her couch and grinned a fine fox's grin. Out of habit she began to reach for the sake bottle, but stopped short when she remembered the promise she's d just made to Naru. "Promises; nothin' but trouble," she grumbled. 

Kitsune then settled back onto the couch and stretched. "All right, I only have to wait a few more hours and then I can get this stupid monkey off my back. Of course, I've actually got to figure out a solution to this mess, but I'll worry about that tomorrow. Right now is coping time."

It was then that Kitsune frowned for a moment. "It's a good thing I talked to Keitaro when I did. This thing was really starting to eat at me. I actually cracked a little bit out there and let some of how much this is bugging me show. Luckily, Keitaro's not the most observant guy in the world. I doubt he noticed. If he did most likely he'll chalk in up to 'feminine issues' or something like that."

Kitsune frowned again and then chewed her lip for a moment. "I know Keitaro well enough by now that I'm sure I can work him to keep his mouth shut about what I have to tell him. But now that I think about it, once I tell him this our relationship won't ever be what it is right now. Heck, the only ones who really know what's up with me and my parents are Grandma Hinata, Haruka and Naru. I'm not going to be telling him everything that they know, but still…" 

Kitsune was silent for a moment considering the weight of her thoughts. "This would make the first guy I've really opened up to in any real way since... And before him there was Seta. Heck, it was Seta that…"

The foxgirl suddenly sat upright and shook her head hard. "Oh no! I've had enough painful memories for one day. I am so not going there!"

After collecting herself, Kitsune settled back down on the couch. She sat there for a time thinking about numerous things from her life and how they'd all led her to this moment. 

Then an odd thought hit her. "Heh, I guess Keitaro's not the only with strange luck around here. I bet his fortune didn't prepare him for what I have to tell him."

~*~

After Kitsune went back to her room, Keitaro gathered up the clothes still lying on the floor and entered his. He put the laundry basket down by the table and then sat down himself.

"What in *heck***** was that about?" Keitaro asked himself. "I don't think I've ever seen Kitsune like that. She was trying to hide it but something's bothering her. Something so big she can't tell Naru. And for some reason she wants to talk to *me* about it! What in the world…"

At that moment realization cut through the ronin like a slash from Motoko's sword. Keitaro sweatdropped. "Oh no. Kitsune's being emotional…She can't tell Naru what the problem is…I'm the only one she can talk with…This can only mean one thing! Kitsune's remembered us kissing last night!"

Keitaro felt a momentary bout of dizziness at his revelation. But after a deep breath he managed to get himself under control. "Okay, Keitaro, get a grip. This could turn into a real mess, but if I think this out I should be okay."

The ronin went for another deep breath before he began to contemplate his situation. "Kitsune remembering kissing me last night is the only explanation for the way she acted in the hall. If what happened didn't mean anything to her then she'd be teasing me without mercy right now."

Keitaro's mind momentarily drifted back to those moments in the hall when his housemate had, just for a few moments, seemed rather fragile. "But she wasn't teasing me. She was trying to hide it, but I'm sure she was upset about something. So clearly kissing me did mean *something* to her."

The ronin suddenly felt as if a flock of butterflies were flitting about his stomach. "Could…could it possibly be that Kitsune…likes me?"

Keitaro shook his head back and forth violently to try and clear his head. "What am I saying?" he asked himself. "The idea of Kitsune liking me is silly. Next I'll be imagining that Shinobu has a crush on me.

"So, silly daydreams aside, if she doesn't like me in that way why would Kitsune be so upset? I doubt that was her first kiss. Kitsune's…"

An image of a grinning Devil Haitani and Devil Shirai flashed in the ronin's mind.

"Little creeps," Keitaro grumbled. "Anyway, Kitsune's clearly had, um, romantic experience before. So a first kiss, other than mine, isn't likely. I guess that's a good thing."

Keitaro sat for a while trying to understand the foxgirl's odd behavior. After much consideration a new possibility popped into his mind. 

"Could the reason Kitsune is upset be Naru?" mused Keitaro. "Kitsune knows that I do like her. And if Naru found out Kitsune and I kissed…Boy, I don't know how she'd react. After calling me a pervert and punching me in the face that is. Iknow she'd do** ***that***."**

The more he thought about it the more certain Keitaro was that he was on the right track. "Yeah, the whole Naru thing has to be it," he said to himself. "I have feelings for Naru and I think she might like me. Just a little. If she found out about what happened last night she might flip out and demand I leave the Hinata for taking advantage of Kitsune while she was drunk.

"Of course, since grandma left this place to me she can't really kick me out, but I don't think she'd ever forgive me. That would make living here a nightmare. And the other girls wouldn't exactly be happy with me either. I couldn't take that. I'd have to give the Hinata back to Aunt Haruka, forget about Tokyo U and going crawling back to my parents."

Keitaro flopped back on the floor and looked up at the slab of wood that covered the entrance to Naru's room. "God, I never would have guessed my first kiss would turn into such as mess. Why couldn't that stupid fortune have warned me about this?"

"Hey, Keitaro, are you in there?" called a voice suddenly.

Keitaro bolted up and looked toward the door. "Yeah, I'm in here. Come on in."

The door opened and Naru stepped in. She was wearing a pink sweater, jeans and a cross look on her face. "You're supposed to be doing laundry but where do I find you? Sitting on your butt in your room. I've been waiting for my clothes for almost a half hour." 

"Sorry, Naru," apologized Keitaro as he stood and picked up the basket. "I…um, well, I got distracted by something and…Oh, nevermind. Again, I'm sorry. I'm just feeling a bit out of sorts right now."

Since his apology sounded genuine Naru decided to be merciful and spare Keitaro the punch she'd been planning since leaving her room. Luck had apparently not totally abandoned the ronin.

"It seems that there's a lot of that 'out of sorts' stuff going around," said Naru as she began to pull her clothes from the basket. "I talked to Kitsune earlier and she seemed a bit out of it. Then again, considering how drunk she must have been last night I guess we should be grateful she can even walk."

"Uh, really?" said Keitaro nervously. "Did she say what was bothering her?"

At that Naru stopped grabbing clothes and looked at Keitaro. "Funny you should say that. I asked her if anything was wrong too. She insisted she was fine. Even after knowing Kitsune as long as I have, there are times when even I don't know what's going on in her head."

Keitaro nodded in understanding.

Naru quickly gathered the rest of her clothes and then turned to head back to her room. When she was about halfway to the door she stopped and turned. "Hey, Keitaro?"

"Yeah?"

"Um, thanks for taking care of Kitsune the way you did last night," said Naru, who suddenly felt a bit embarrassed for reasons she couldn't name. "I know she can pretty much take care of herself, but I do still worry about her. You were there for her at one of those times she wasn't able to handle herself."

The ronin automatically thought of what really had happened between him and the foxgirl last night. Keitaro felt of a wave of guilt run over him.

"I doubt she'll ever tell you so, but I'm sure she's grateful," continued Naru. "And, um, so am I. Good work, Mr. Manger."

Before he could respond Naru gave a quick smile and disappeared out the door.

Keitaro again flopped to the floor. "God! I don't know if I should feel ecstatic that Naru complimented me like that or if I should feel like scum because I kissed the drunk girl I was supposed to be taking care of!"

Again Keitaro's eyes drifted to the hole to Naru's room. He then glanced that the wall that was the barrier between his room and Kitsune's.

He shook his head. "If there was any doubt left in me this clinches it. It really is going to be 'strange luck' for me this year."

~*~

As day turned into evening life continued on at the Hinata House. After another of Shinobu's wonderful meals everyone drifted off to pursue their own interests. 

During the meal Keitaro glanced several times at Kitsune to see if he could glean anything from his housemate's mannerisms that would give him a clue as to what she wanted to talk with him about. But the foxgirl acted as she always did which only left Keitaro more baffled. 

To kill time before the meeting Keitaro headed back to his room to try and grab a few minutes of study time. He grabbed a textbook at random and flipped to a pre-marked page. By chance it was a science book and the ronin happened to turn to the section on astronomy.

"The planet Venus was named after the roman goddess of love and beauty," read Keitaro aloud as he looked through the book. "Venus' orbit is 108,200,000 km from the sun. It is 12,103.6 km in diameter and weights 4.869e24 kg. It is the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and the Moon. 

"The first spacecraft to visit Venus was the United States' _Mariner 2_ in 1962. It was subsequently visited by…"

After a time Keitaro glanced at his watch and saw that the twenty minute wait after dinner that Kitsune had requested had elapsed. He put his book down and quietly slipped into the hall. The light was off in Kitsune's room and no one was about in the hall. Since the coast was clear young man headed toward the roof.

As he headed up the roof's stairs Keitaro noticed that the moon was full and unusually blue. However, a few clouds were slowly drifting across its face. "I got astronomy on brain," the Hinata's manager muttered.

Kitsune was already there waiting, a large bottle of sake and a cup sat by her right side. To the ronin's surprise a guitar sat in her lap and the foxgirl was tuning it with her left hand.

"Hey, Kitsune," called Keitaro in greeting. "That's a nice looking guitar you have there. I didn't know you played."

"I don't," said Kitsune as she continued to tune the instrument. "Well, more like I haven't for a couple of years. This was a gift from an old tutor of mine. He's the one who taught me to play, in fact. He went off to do his own thing and after a while I just lost interest in playing. Even so, this thing has a lot of sentimental value so I couldn't just toss it out."

"That's interesting," said Keitaro as he sat down a respectful distance from the foxgirl. "Hey, why don't you play something? I'd really like to hear you."

"You'd 'really like to hear me', huh?" repeated Kitsune with an amused look on her face. "You sure about that, Keitaro?"

Keitaro had a feeling that there was a double meaning to the foxgirl's words. But exactly what he wasn't sure. Pushing that thought aside he nodded.

"Well, too bad," smirked Kitsune. "I'd need a lot more sake in my than I do right now to try playing. Singing karaoke I'm up for anytime, but playing is something different."

Keitaro didn't understand why his housemate's reluctance to perform but decided to put it aside and deal with the matter at hand. "So, Kitsune, there was something you wanted to talk to me about…"

"Yeah," nodded the foxgirl with sudden seriousness in her voice. "This is heavy stuff, Keitaro, so I'm just going to lay it out. This morning I got a call from my mother. It was the first time I'd spoken with her in almost a year."

__

What? thought Keitaro. _This doesn't sound like she's remembered us kissing at all. I better not say anything about that for now_. _It sounds like she's got something personal to tell me._

The ronin could see in Kitsune's eyes that she was starting to tread on painful memories. Not sure as to what else to do he just nodded for her to go on.

"Before I tell you what she told me you have understand something about my parents," continued Kitsune. "They're both really driven, determined people. They both graduated from college with top marks, landed jobs at the biggest trading firm in Osaka and worked their way up the ladder really quick. My dad is only forty-five and he's already a vice president. My mom is not only the highest female manager in the company, she's one of the top managers period.

"The problem with my folks is that they had a lot of trouble leaving work at the office and home at home. It's too long a story to go into detail, but to put it bluntly they tended to fight. A lot."

"That sort of thing is tough," said Keitaro sympathetically. "My parents didn't fight anymore than anyone else's, but I still hated it when they did. But they loved each other so they always made up afterwards."

"In a way my parents were like that too," picked up the foxgirl. "As much as they fought they still loved each other a lot. It would take things getting really, really bad, but they would come times when they'd realize that their marriage should come before their jobs. When that happened they'd actually start talking to each other like real people and things would get a lot better. Normal family better.

"For a while, anyway. Then they'd slip back into the old routine and everything would be just like it was before. All my life it was like that."

"I notice you haven't really said much about how you fit into their lives," said Keitaro softly.

Kitsune ran a hand through her hair and nodded. "Yeah, me. There's not really much to say on that one. I knew my folks loved me and they did the best they could. They each spent time with me and taught me stuff like parents are supposed to. Sometimes they'd put whatever they were fighting about that day aside and we'd go out and do something fun as a family. I always loved those times. It wasn't a perfect childhood, but those only exist on TV. Despite how it sounds I really was fairly happy more often than not."

"But anyway, when I was sixteen things between them got really bad. Worse than things had ever been. The separated for a while and started talking about getting a divorce. I was stuck in the middle with both them trying to get me on 'their side'. It was total hell."

"I've had some friends who've parents got divorced," informed Keitaro. "They've told me what that's like. Though it sounds like you had it really bad."

Kitsune reached for her cup and took a long drink of sake. After she was done she set the cup down and again nodded. "My parents marriage had always been a bit unstable, but when that happened it felt like my world was falling apart.

"I'm sure I was in a state of clinical depression when my mom finally realized what this was doing to me. She sat my dad down and they managed to put the bad feelings aside long enough to decide that it would be best if I went somewhere else for a while. Neither of them had any close relatives who could take me in so they were stuck.

"Then one day my mom got a call from an old friend of hers. She told her friend what was happening and asked if she knew any place I might be able to go. It turns out that did.

"You see, my mom's old friend actually lived here in Hinata City. She'd heard about your grandma turning her hotel into a girl's dorm and that there were room open. So my folks called your grandma, worked out the details and within ten days of the call from my mom's friend I moved in here. I was the first resident, in fact."

"Wow," said Keitaro. "I never really thought about why any of you girls came here. It didn't really seem like my business to ask."

"It's really a good thing you didn't," responded Kitsune. "It would likely kick up bad memories for them too.

"Anyway, enough backstory. Back to the call from mom this morning. The reason she called was to tell me that their firm was opening up a new branch in the US. They asked my parents go over there as part of the senior management staff for their new office in San Diego."

"Isn't San Diego in California?" asked Keitaro.

"Right. I guess all that studying you've done with Naru is paying off," answered the foxgirl with a small grin. But that grin vanished as Kitsune continued to explain. "The thing isn't so much my mom telling me about her and dad moving to the US. It's what she didn't say."

"I don't follow," said Keitaro.

"My mom tends to try hide our hint at bad news with good news. Heck, when she and dad separated she told about it by first telling me we were moving to a new apartment. She went on about how great the new place was going to be for half an hour before she got around to telling me that 'we' didn't include dad. Over the years I've learned to read between the lines."

"So…what was she really trying to say?"

Instead of answering Kitsune took a long drink of sake right from the bottle. Keitaro didn't like the look of that but said nothing.

"What she was saying, Keitaro, is that they expect me to come with them," said the foxgirl bluntly. "My parents want me to leave the Hinata House and move with them to America."

Keitaro's eyes got large and his jaw dropped at the girls words. _I don't believe it. I really can't imagine the Hinata without Kitsune around stirring things up all time_, he thought.

Kitsune noticed his reaction and nodded. "Yeah, that was about how I felt. The funny thing is, that going to the US sounds like the only downside. You see, my mom also told me that she and dad have been getting pretty intensive marriage counseling for the last ten months. According to her they've buried a lot of old hatchets and are getting alone as well as they did when they were first married. If I were to go with them I think we might have a real shot at that normal family thing." 

It took a few moments, but Keitaro managed to shake off his shock at what he'd just been told. Kitsune had sat there waiting silently and looking out toward the sea. "So, uh, I guess this means you're leaving, huh?" asked Keitaro.

At that Kitsune looked at him and frowned. "I have no intention of leaving," she said in a slightly angry voice. "I'm an adult now and I make my own decisions. New attitude towards family or not, my dad isn't the type to take 'no' for an answer. He's always been stubborn that way. 

"They aren't leaving for the US for a couple of months so I've got plenty of time to think of something. This isn't the first time they've tried to push me to do something I don't want to and I've always found a way to get out of it. This time won't be any different."

"Well, that's good," said Keitaro, a bit a of relief clear in his voice. "Things around here wouldn't be as interesting around here without you. Plus, the other girls and I would all miss you." 

The foxgirl's mood brighten at those words. "Of course you'd miss me. Beautiful, clever, fun-loving girls are in short supply these days. Without me around you guys would end up boring each other to death or something. Plus, I'd miss everyone here too. The Hinata's a lot of fun."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too," chuckled Keitaro. "There's never a dull moment around here. And I got admit, a good part of that is true because of you."

"Well, I do my best." Kitsune then gave Keitaro a serious look. "Listen, Keitaro, I just told you some really personal stuff. I know you're a decent guy, but keep all that to yourself, okay? I don't like people knowing about my family. And whatever you do don't say anything about my parents wanting me to go to America with them to anyone. Especially Naru. If she finds out there's be a big scene that I don't want to have to deal with. This is my problem, not hers."

"I understand, Kitsune," nodded the ronin. "You have my word, I won't repeat what you told me to anyone."

"Then let's drink to the promise between us," proposed Kitsune as she picked up her cup and handed it to Keitaro. "I expect you to treat this just like that promise you made to your dream girl all those years ago." 

"A promise is a promise," said Keitaro resolutely as the shorthaired girl poured a generous amount of sake into his cup.

"That's good enough for me," said Kitsune as she grabbed the sake bottle and raised it in toast. "To the Hinata House and everyone in it. May the good times last forever!"

"May the good times last forever," Keitaro toasted. The pair then began to drink. As the sake flowed down his throat a thought crossed the young ronin's mind. _Kitsune was drinking from this glass just a minute ago. So me drinking from it now sorta makes this an indirect kiss!_

Keitaro blushed a little at that thought.

By then he'd finished his drink. Keitaro looked over to she that she was looking at him with an amused look on her face. "Hey, Keitaro, you're blushin'. What's the matter? This stuff too strong for you?"

"Uh, just a bit," Keitaro lied, hoping the foxgirl wouldn't really pick up on what he'd been thinking. "I really shouldn't be drinking anyway. I still have studying to do."

"Okay, Mr. Tokyo U, I guess you better get back to your books," said Kitsune as she took back the cup. She then glanced away. "Hey, Keitaro, thanks for listening to me. I really needed to get that off my chest."

"No problem. I'm the Hinata's manager so it's my job to help you girls anytime you need help. Are you sure you're okay now?"

Instead of answering Kitsune took another long swig from the sake bottle. When she was done she flashed one of best fox-like grins. "The Kitsune brand drunken smile is back on my pretty face. Don't worry, I'm fine."

Keitaro nodded and stood. "That's good to see. Though…"

"Though what?" quizzed the foxgirl.

Keitaro scratched the back of his head and looked uncomfortable. "It's just…well…if you don't mind me saying this…"

"Aw, spit it out already!"

Keitaro was clearly blushing a bit now. It's, uh, just…I think your smile is a prettier when you're not drunk."

Kitsune blinked and felt her face getting a bit warm. "Uh, thanks, Keitaro. That was…sweet."

"Uh, yeah, well, it's the truth. Anyway, I better get going." Without further words Keitaro scrambled back down the stairs.

Kitsune waited until the ronin's footsteps had vanished before bringing a hand to her face. It was still a bit warmer than usual. "Did that…did he…did that goof actually just make me blush?" she wondered aloud. 

Kitsune turned what had just happened over in her mind for a minute and took another drink of sake. "Well, I guess even Keitaro can say the right thing at the right time once in a while," she said to herself a bit later. "Come to think of it, that was the first time I've been called pretty by someone not looking to get in my pants in a long, long time. And since Keitaro is a fairly bad liar I know he meant what he said."

Kitsune made an amused sound and smiled to herself. "I've given the poor little spaz enough nosebleeds to know that he'd finds me sexy, but it was still nice to hear Keitaro call me pretty. A girl needs to her that from time to time."

The foxgirl again felt her face get a bit warmer. At that she stiffened and shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not going to blush again! I'm past the blushing stage in my life thank you very much! And even if I were to blush over a guy, it would be over one far cooler, better looking and richer than Keitaro Urashima!"

To push the offending thoughts from her mind Kitsune checked the tuning on her guitar. It seemed to be in perfect tune now. She then made a careful survey of the roof to make certain no one was around. 

"Oh, what the heck. If I keep it low no one will hear." With that, Kitsune gave the guitar a strum and began to sing. 

__

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away

Now it looks as though they're here to stay

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

Suddenly, I'm not half to man I used to be,

There's a shadow hanging over me.

Oh, yesterday came suddenly.

Why she had to go…

Kitsune was silent for several moments after she trailed off. Then she gave a small chuckle. "It's funny, I'd actually forgotten that 'Yesterday' was one of Seta's favorite songs. Boy, the ghosts of the past are just all over me today."

The foxgirl then stood and stretched. "I've had enough of the past for one night. I think I'll head back to me room, finish of this bottle and call it an early night. After all, I've got some thinking to do come tomorrow."

Kitsune then gather up her things and headed back to her room. For a long moment the roof of the Hinata was silent and still. 

Then from behind the railing of the side opposite to where Kitsune and Keitaro had been sitting a head popped up and glanced across the rooftop. "Interesting," mused Kaolla Su. "Very, very interesting."

****

To be continued…

****

Author's Notes: At long last the second chapter is finally done. Sorry for the wait, folks, but several real life things have been eating up my time of late. College, of course, is still the main one. But I've also got a monthly Internet column going on and I was part of the staff setting up an anime convention called C-Kon. The con was a ton of work but everyone involved had a total blast.

I was actually extra lucky. Because I'm such a _Love Hina_ fanboy I got to run a _Love Hina_ panel. A panel were Wendee Lee herself was a guest. For those who don't keep tabs on such things, Wendee is Su and Tama-chan's English voice as well as the director of the English version of _Love Hina_. To add to the coolness she brought a copy of _The Love Hina Christmas Movie_ with her which we got to show before it was out in stores.

I could yammer on about this forever, but suffice to say Wendee Lee was really a great guest who had some interesting stuff to say about _Love Hina_ and the fans and I enjoyed her a lot.

As for the story, I was a bit worried about this chapter. When you put angst into characters who normally don't have much angst you're really pushing the envelope. As I was writing this I really tried to keep Kitsune sounding like herself even while she was dealing with some pretty emotional stuff. Plus, her past was stuff that I made up which only added to the pressure to get things right.

It took a couple of passes, but I think I finally found the words to have Kitsune say what I needed her to say without sounding out of character. But I guess the readers will be the ultimate judges.

One thing that's never really explained in the manga or anime is why Kitsune is living at the Hinata. Since she's been there since her high school days I think it's safe to say that she's been living there since she was a minor. So if she moved in when she was still underage then her parents or guardian would have to be okay with it.

Now we know that some of the girls are at the Hinata because of family problems. It only made sense to me that Kitsune would be there for the same reasons. 

As for Kitsune's parents, I know several people who's folks are just like that. They're super focused on their jobs and don't know how to not bring the office home. And if they work with their spouse they tend to bring up stuff from home at work. It's not a fun situation.

On the other hand, I didn't want Kitsune's folks to come off like monsters. I really wanted to drive home that they do care about each other and Kitsune. They just have problems with putting what's really important first. And yes, for those who are wondering, we will be meeting Kitsune's folks down the line a ways.

One thing I really thought a lot about is why Kitsune drinks so much. People don't booze at the level she does just because they enjoy a good time. If someone is drinking that much they're likely doing it to cover some inner pain. Keitaro's starting to catch onto this after seeing the way Kitsune drank while talking about her folks on the roof. Needless to say, this is something else he's going to have to deal with.

I'm sure a few people out there are wondering "Since when does Kitsune play the guitar?". Look closely at the manga or anime and you'll see she keeps a guitar sitting on the couch in her room. I find it hard to believe she'd keep an instrument she doesn't know anything about sitting in a place like that. Plus, I could just see Kitsune as the sort to play the guitar. Of course, tying it to Seta gives us a reason as to why we haven't seen her play before. 

Hopefully everyone knows that "Yesterday" is a song by _The Beatles_. I'm not really into _The Beatles_ but that is my favorite song of theirs. I think it rather nicely illustrates Kitsune's desire for the simplicity her life had only the day before.

Quoting that _Red Hot Chili Peppers_ song at the beginning was a bit different. Those lines just seemed perfect for saying that even though she's very carefree on the outside it doesn't mean that Kitsune doesn't have her own problems and demons to deal with.

__

This would make the first guy I've really opened up to in any real way since... And before him there was Seta.

I bet this line perked a few people's ear up. As I was thinking about Kitsune's life I wondered if their wasn't someone she had feelings for after Seta. Plus, she's clearly been around the block a few times. Where did Kitsune's experience with those sort of things come from? So yes, in my little world Seta isn't the only guy to break our foxgirl's heart. That's something else that will come up later on.

__

As he headed up the roof's stairs Keitaro noticed that the moon was full and unusually blue. However, a few clouds were slowly drifting across its face.

In Japanese culture the moon the very symbolic of young women and there feelings. Clouds covering a full mean indicate a girl's heart is troubled. Not the most subtle of symbolism, I grant you, but I like it.

The mention of Venus was also symbolic, but I don't think I need to explain that one.

Even though his job was mostly to just listen to Kitsune, I had a lot of fun writing Keitaro this chapter. Having him think about Kitsune wanting to talk to him and then jumping to exactly the wrong conclusion was really enjoyable. As was his reaction to the 'indirect kiss'. That's something else that's a big deal in Japanese culture that just doesn't register here in the West.

I wanted Naru to have a bigger part in what was going on but couldn't think of anything to do with her. Though her thanking Keitaro seemed like a nice moment.

Of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to have a little fun with Shinobu and her crush on Keitaro. Mr. Froggy will indeed turn up again. Plus, I think I'll be playing more with Shinobu and Su's friendship. I think there's something to be gained from that. Plus, Su needs someone other than Motoko to hung with until I get around to bringing in Sara.

Speaking of Su, I've found her to be the hardest character to write. You never know what she's going to do in any situation. On the other hand, she's great for sneaking in pop culture references that would be really out of place in Japan.

Su's spying on Keitaro and Kitsune's conversation will be coming into play again though not for a while. After all, we don't know how much of that conversation she heard or how she might interpret what she did hear. Heh, heh, heh…

As for other things, Kitsune will be having more fun with Motoko. They're such opposites that they're great to write together. Keitaro needs some guy pals to talk about stuff with so I think Haitani and Shirai will be popping up more. There will, of course, be more Haruka. Mutsumi, Seta and Sara won't be showing up for a while, but I'm already planning their entrances. We'll likely be seeing a few flashbacks to what life at the Hinata was like before Keitaro came at some point. Plus, some characters exclusive to the anime will be popping up in what I think will be a very funny guest role.

That's all I have for now, folks. See ya next time. 


	3. A Conversation Over Drinks

January 3

Hinata City, Japan

Kitsune drew in a deep breath of night air as she walked through the streets of Hinata City. An unexpected warm front had blown through Kanagawa prefecture two days after Christmas causing much of the snow that had decorated the town then to melt. The warming trend had continued until now all that was left of the snow was a lot of dirty slush and a general feeling of moisture in the air.

_A light jacket was all that was needed to keep the foxgirl warm as she walked. I hope the weather stays like this_, thought Kitsune as she turned a corner. _I never was a huge fan of winter._

A little further down the street was a sign that had the word "Highpoints" written on it in silver and blue letters. Though it had only opened eight months ago, Highpoints quickly shot to the top of Kitsune's favorite watering holes. Good food, a friendly staff and reason prices had made the new bar popular with many people in Hinata City.

But Highpoints had one other thing going for it; the décor. Almost every square inch of the bar's walls was covered in movie posters. The posters covered all of film from around the world and the last eighty or so years of movie making. 

The posters and the films they promoted were often the topic of lengthy discussions among the bar's patrons. Which was entirely the point. To keep the conversation fresh and the customers coming back the posters were changed once every two months. Right now American horror and sci-fi films seemed to dominate the most space.

But Kitsune wasn't thinking about any of that as she strolled through Highpoints' door. Once inside she cast a quick look around. People sat at the bar, at tables and in booths talking and drinking. Other people were playing darts and pool, watching the TV or just walking around, drink in hand, admiring the posters.

At the foxgirl's entrance a several people waved. Kitsune had quickly become known as a regular not long after Highpoints' opening. The staff had all learned her preferences long ago and treated her with an extra bit of respect due to her being considered a valued customer.

"Kitsune! Hey, over here!" called a voice. Kitsune turned to see a blue-haired woman sitting at a table near the bar waving to her. 

The woman in question was named Aoi Minase. She too had been one of Highpoints' first regulars. As people in bars are want to do the pair had got to talking one night and discovered that they had several things in common. The most important among these being a mutual love of drinking, gambling and using their extremely attractive figures to toy with members of the male gender.

Of course, there were also notable differences between the two women. The biggest was that Aoi was three years older than Kitsune. Aoi was very fond of beer and playing pachinko while Kitsune preferred sake and horse racing. Lastly was the fact that Aoi had worked steadily as a waitress at a restaurant called the Pia Carrot 2 for the last several years. In contrast Kitsune had bounced from job to job since graduating from high school.

"Hey, Aoi," said Kitsune as she headed over to the other girl's table. "What have up been up to?"

"Nothing much," replied Aoi. "And you?"

Kitsune thought back to the events from the day before as she sat down. "Oh…not much. Same old, same old."

"So how was your New Year's Day?"

"I wish I could remember," said the foxgirl as she gave the bartender a look that said, "Bring me the usual." He nodded in response.

"Wow, you must have really partied hearty," grinned Aoi as she sipped her beer. "I got pretty hammered myself but I remember a what I did. Well, most of it. The fun stuff anyway."

"I went the Hinata Shrine anniversary celebration. They had a free sake table there and…Well, let's just say I had my fill and then some."

"A free sake table and I missed it? Damn," grumbled Aoi. "I was going to go to the shrine thing with my friend Ryoko. But she somehow got her hands on two tickets to a special New Year's Day concert by _Firebomber_ at the Tokyo Dome. So we decided going to that instead."

"I like that band too. Was it a good show?"

"Yeah, it was. We both had a great time. Was the shrine fun?"

"What I remember of it was fun."

Aoi made an amused sound and gave her glass a little shake. "When you can't remember what you did the night before, that's when you know you had a good time."

"Naru told me that Keitaro found me so wasted I could barely walk and he had to half drag half carry me home."

Aoi arched an eyebrow. "Oh, he carried you home. How romantic."

"I don't know if I'd call something I was too plastered to remember romantic," countered Kitsune. "Yeah, it was nice of him to pass on the fireworks show to take me home but Keitaro's a nice guy. There's nothing romantic between us at all so stop being silly."

The blue-haired girl had a feeling she may hit a tender spot, which intrigued her. When Kitsune did speak of her building manager she usually stared things off by saying something like, 'You'll never believe what I did to Keitaro this time!' But Kitsune's last words had come off as just slightly defensive which was enough to get Aoi's attention. A potential chance for teasing like this was not to be missed.

"Okay, what kind of relationship do you have with this guy?" asked Aoi. "Other than giving his nosebleeds and tricking him out of sake money. Or is that all there is between you two?"

"Uh…well," began Kitsune. If Aoi had asked this question a few days before the foxgirl would have said that Keitaro was just a friend, albeit one who was easy to manipulate for fun and profit. But after having shared the secret of her family situation with him Kitsune couldn't deny that their relationship had changed. Keitaro was now a confidante as well as a friend. 

One who had actually made her blush only the night before. 

"Hey! Earth to Kitsune!" shouted Aoi.

That snapped the foxgirl back to her senses. "Oh, uh, sorry about that. I zoned out for a second," said Kitsune as she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

Aoi leaned back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest and gave a little smirk. "You sure picked a convenient moment for your little trip to space. In case you didn't notice, your face has turned a bit red. Could someone be blushing? Did I hit a nerve asking about you and Keitaro? Hhhmm?"

Kitsune's hand instinctively flew to her face. Her skin felt slightly warmer than normal. Or did it?

"Dammit, Aoi, that wasn't funny!" snapped the foxgirl.

"Really? Then how come I'm laughing?" snickered Aoi through a fit of giggles. 

Now Kitsune really was blushing._ Aoi's going to tease me about this for weeks. I better set her straight on how things are between Keitaro and me. Otherwise I'll never hear the end of this!_

"Look, Aoi, Keitaro's a nice guy and I do consider him a friend," said Kitsune firmly. "But he's just a friend. I've told you how he's got it bad for Naru. Though she's sooner kiss a pig than admit it, she likes him a little bit too."

Aoi was now over her giggles but not ready to let her friend off the hook yet. "Okay, I'll give you all of that. He likes Naru and she sorta likes him. But how do you feel about Keitaro specifically? Are you sure he's just a friend?"

Kitsune scowled and took a long gulp of her beer, which had been discreetly delivered while the two had been talking. Once that was done she exhaled deeply before looking her friend squarely in the eye. "Didn't I just say he's only a friend? Keitaro's a decent guy, but he's also a geeky second year ronin who turns into a total spaz when it comes to girls. In no way, shape or form is he my type. Got it?"

Aoi held up her hands in a placating gesture and tried to look apologetic. "Okay, okay. I was just having a little fun and your lack of a romantic life is too easy a target to pass up.

Kitsune huffed. "All right, you're forgiven. Though you're really not one to talk about someone's lack of a romantic life. Aren't you the one that's still mooning over her boss, that Yusuke guy? Which is a real waste of time since you told me he's getting married to some other girl in a few months. Am I right?"

The blue haired girl rested her elbows up on the table and lazily let her face rest in her hands. "Yeah, you're right. I guess I'm no one to talk. Yusuke's really happy and the girl he's engaged to is very nice. I should just accept the fact that I was never anything more than an employee to Yusuke and try and be happy for them but…"

"Hey, buck up," said Kitsune in a comforting tone. "You're not the only one to have someone you had it bad for leave you behind. I've been there too, you know."

Aoi nodded and looked thoughtfully into her beer mug. "Right, your tutor from high school. That Seta guy. It's been what…Three years since you last saw him?"

"Give or take, yeah, almost three years."

"And a schoolgirl crush still hurts after all that time? Come on."

"There's a difference between a crush and being in love for the first time," informed Kitsune simply. "A crush is enough like love to make you feel kinda good. But it's one-sided so even in your head you know your feelings can't hurt you.

"Being in love for the first time is different. When you realize you're in love for the first time it's like someone takes a blindfold off you that you've been wearing your whole life never knowing it. The whole world looks different and the person you're in love with…well, they just seem to shine."

Aoi gave a little smile and nodded. "Damned if you aren't right. Shining…Yeah, Yusuke did seem that way to me when I looked at him, now that I think about it. That Seta guy was like that for you?"

Kitsune nodded. "Yeah, he was. He was smart, strong, handsome and had this goofy natural charm about him. Plus, he was a Tokyo U student at the time. Trust me when I say I wasn't the only one who had a thing for him."

"That's a lots of marks in the plus column," commented Aoi. "I can see why he'd be popular with the ladies."

The foxgirl made an agreeing sound while taking another long drink. "Even though it broke my heart when he left I'm grateful to Seta. He was a genuinely good guy. If you're going to be in love for the first time it should be with someone who is a good person. Because no matter how your first love ends, the person you were in love with will, in some small way, touch every other romantic relationship you have for the rest of your life."

"You were like me, right?" asked Aoi. "You never told Seta how you felt about him the same way I never told Yusuke?"

Kitsune shook her head. "No, I never did tell him. After all this time I still regret that. I'm sure that if I had Seta would have let me down as gently as he could. He wasn't the type to go after schoolgirls, after all. I guess I'd have gotten a broken heart either way. What hurts the most is the regret of not telling him how I felt."

"I hear that," smiled Aoi wistfully. 

The blue-haired girl then looked at her friend with an excited look in her eyes. "Hey, Kitsune, let's make a little promise to each other right now."

Those words took the foxgirl aback. _What is it with people and promises in this town? _she thought.

"What kind of promise?"

"Let's promise each other that the next time we find a guy we love, and I mean really love, that we tell him," explained Aoi. "Consequences be damned, we tell him!"

Kitsune looked at her friend oddly for a moment before one of her fox-like grins crept onto her face. "You're right. Life's too short to not tell someone you love how you feel."

Aoi arched an eyebrow. "Consequences be damned?"

Kitsune's grin only got bigger. "Consequences be damned."

"Cheers to that!" proposed Aoi as she raised her beer high.

"You read my mind," said Kitsune as she too raised up her drink.

"Cheers!" toasted the pair loudly. They then proceeded to drain their drinks in one shot.

After that the pair signaled for another round which was brought a minute later. Neither girl spoke until she had another beer in hand.

"You know, the sad part of that promise is that it's a lot easier said than done," lamented Aoi as she took a drink. "Decent guys are in real short supply these days. Especially around here. God, I swear, there are days when I think that there are nothing but perverts in this town."

"No kidding," snorted Kitsune. "I get my share of perverted guy stuff from Keitaro back home. At least there it's funny. Anywhere else, unless I'm trying to weasel a few free drinks out of the guy, it's just a pain in the ass."

"Tell me about it! I'm a waitress and the _Pia Carrot 2 _uniforms are really cute. That combined with my naturally sexy body makes me a prime target for all the pervs that come in," said Aoi, in complete seriousness. "I like the physical as much as much as the next healthy young gal, but I really could do without sixty-year-old guys trying to grab my butt for a cheap thrill."

"I hear you," nodded Kitsune. "I've done the waitress thing a few times myself. Those geezer types can actually be worse than the young guys who just try and pick you up."

"I suppose I shouldn't complain too much," mused Aoi. "_Pia Carrot_ is a family restaurant chain, so we don't have as bad a problem with perverts as some other places. After all, who wants to be seen trying to feel up the waitress in front of a mother and her two-year-old kid or someone like that? Besides, when someone like that does show up we just sic Miki on them."

"Miki? That's the waitress who fancies herself a manga artist in her spare time, right?" asked Kitsune.

Aoi nodded. "Yeah, that's Miki. She's pretty good with a pencil, but what she's really good at is waving around a kitchen and yelling when she gets mad." 

Kitsune chuckled. "Sounds like she'd really get along with Naru. She tends to hit people when she gets riled up. And Motoko too. Get her angry and you'll get a sword in your face faster than you can 'Masamune'. Keitaro dreads ticking off either of them."

"They all do sound a bit alike," concurred Aoi. "Heck, you should see the poor sap that delivers the restaurant's vegetables. Miki's chewed him out for being late while waving a kitchen knife around so many times that the poor sap is scared to death of her. You'd think he'd just learn to be on time but…Well, that's just how he is. 

"Anyway, that temper of Miki's is why whenever we have a problem with perverts we send her out to give them a little lecture on 'the inappropriateness of such behavior in a family establishment'. 

"The looks on those pervs faces as she waves that knife around is great. They don't listen to word she says. They're too busy ducking to avoid getting slashed. But what makes it even funnier is that Miki doesn't even realize that she's doing anything dangerous at all with the knife. She's just too mad to notice. It's hysterical!"

"Sounds a bit like how things can get at the Hinata," said Kitsune. "I really should drop by the _Pia Carrot 2_ sometime. Perverts or not, it sounds like you work at an interesting place."

"That's true," concurred Aoi. "Miki's far from the only oddball there." 

The blue-haired girl took a long swig from her beer and smiled. Then a look of realization flashed across her face. "Oh, hey, I was going to tell you this earlier but we got to talking about the sad state of our love lives and I forgot. If you wanna hear a funny story about some perverts at the _Pia Carrot_ let me tell you about these two guys who came in last Friday."

"I'm all ears," said Kitsune.

"They were about your age and both had short hair and glasses. One was tall and the other on the short side. I don't remember what they called each other, but I was the one who had to serve them so I heard some of their conversation. I'm pretty sure the tall one's name started with and H and the short guy's with an S.

"Anyway, as soon as they came in I could tell they were going to be trouble. They just had that horny guy look to 'em, you know? So I show them to their table and as they're sitting down the short one tells me that my uniform is cute, but not as cute as I am."

Kitsune rolled her eyes. "That old line? I heard that one plenty time when I did the waitress gig. Let me guess, he said it while addressing your chest and not your face."

"Bingo!" confirmed Aoi. "It's no secret that the _Pia Carrot_ restaurants make it a point to have both cute uniforms and cute waitresses. After all, any good family restaurant has to have a little something for dad and big brother. So I'm used to those sorts of comments and don't mind them for the most part. 

"But this guy…I could that what he *really* wanted was me bringing him food while wearing nothing but an apron with Aoi ala mode for dessert."

"That's a colorful image," said Kitsune. "But what about the tall one? Was he eyeing you too?"

At that question Aoi scowled. "Oh, I wish he had been. Instead he was eyeing sweet little Mina who was serving some people a few tables down."

"Mina? Isn't she the really young one?" asked Kitsune, her face clearly in concentration. "Sorry, but I'm having trouble remembering the names of everyone you work with tonight for some reason. Which I should know considering that you've talked about them plenty of times."

"Forget it," dismissed Aoi with a casual wave of her hand. "I once forgot my own phone number even though I've had it for years. Anyway, yeah, Mina's the young one. She's fourteen but is going to be starting high school soon. Mina's older sister, Azuza, works with me too. Even though Mina's still in junior high, Azuza managed convince Ryoko that she was mature enough to handle a job like this." 

"Ah, now the fact that Ryoko's not just your best friend but the manager of your branch of the Pia Carrot I do remember!" proclaimed Kitsune happily. She then grinned in embarrassment. "Uh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. Go on."

"I'll give her credit where credit's due, Mina's a good worker, the customers all love her and all of us at the Pia Carrot treat her like a little sister," began Aoi. "So seeing this guy give Mina one of 'those' looks really got under my skin. That, and the fact that while I was taking their order the short one 'accidentally' dropped his fork on the ground so he could try and look up my skirt while he picked it up. But I've had that tired on me plenty of times so I was able to move so he couldn't see anything."

Kitsune nodded as she listened. "The accidentally dropping the silverware routine. The first time I worked as a waitress and a guy pulled that on me I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late," lamented the foxgirl. "That was how I learned the hard way that there actually are some times when thong panties just aren't a good idea. 

"Word must have gotten around to the local perverts real quick because before I knew it I had guys trying that on me half a dozen time a day. Even after I switched to regular panties. I eventually had to quite that job to get away from those pervs. Which was a real shame since the pay was good."

Aoi was giggling again. "That's sad, but also kinda funny. No doubt about it, life's rough for us working girls. But let me finish up my story.

"When I went to get those two pervs' food, that was when the tall one made his move. He called Mina over, pretending to have a question about something on the menu most likely. Then he starts in on her. I was still waiting for their food when I looked back and saw that he was talking to Mina and that she was blushing. And I don't mean the good kind of blushing. So I called to Miki, who was in the kitchen chopping vegetables, 'Hey, Miki. We've got perverts at table #9. One of 'em's hitting on Mina right now.'

"Damn, but I've never seen Miki move so fast. She was over there lecturing and waving her knife around in a flash. Those two creeps where petrified. I think the short one might have even been crying a little bit. It felt so good to see those two get what they deserved.

"Anyway, the second Miki finished her 'lecture' and went back to the kitchen those two jumped up, tossed the money for their food on the table and bolted for the door. They were both in such a hurry to get away from Miki they almost each other down trying to get out of the restaurant. It was priceless!"

"Aw, that's great!" laughed Kitsune. "So what was that one perv saying to Mina? I hope it wasn't anything too nasty."

"I don't know," shrugged Aoi. "I asked what he said to her later but she didn't want to talk about it. I figured she's been through enough for one day so I let it drop. But I don't think whatever that guy said to her could have been all that bad. Those two were more the horny loser type rather than the real sicko type. Plus, Mina's the shy, innocent sort. She blushes pretty easy."

"Sounds like Shinobu," said Kitsune. "You should see the shades of red she'll turn if romance or anything relating to good 'ol s-e-x comes up. It's pretty funny."

"Ah, to be young gain," sighed Aoi. "I'd hate it. Going through being a teenager once was enough for me."

"That goes double for me," nodded Kitsune. "I hope Shinobu will have an easier time being a teenager than I did. Right now she's got her first love thing going on with Keitaro of all people."

"You're sure it's not just a crush?"

Kitsune shook her head emphatically. "No, the way she looks at Keitaro is the same way I used to look at Seta. It's the real deal. I'm sure of it."

"Then I guess that makes her a pretty lucky girl," smiled Aoi as she took a drink from her beer.

The foxgirl had a puzzled face. "How so?"

Aoi made an amused smile. "Weren't you just talking a few minutes ago about how 'If you're going to be in love for the first time it should be with someone who is a good person. Because no matter how your first love ends, the person you were in love with will, in some small way, touch every other romantic relationship you have for the rest of your life,' right?

"And you said earlier that Keitaro *is* a nice guy. You don't think he's the sort who'd take advantage of her, do you?"

Kitsune made a dismissive gesture with her hand and snorted. "Of course not. He's probably had a naughty thought about her from time to time, but Keitaro would never do that to Shinobu. I've told you have she looks up to him and even calls him 'sempai'. You can tell by the look on his face that the way Shinobu looks up to him means a lot to Keitaro. He'd never do deliberately do anything to hurt her. Or anyone else, now that I think about it.

"Besides, the big dope hasn't got clue one that Shinobu feels anything more than respect for him. Though it's glaringly obvious to anyone who isn't named Keitaro Urashima how she feels about him."

"So like I said, she a lucky girl," repeated Aoi. "Her first love is someone Shinobu both likes and respects, who cares a lot about her feelings and would never try and take advantage of her or hurt her. I this big bad world that's a pretty rare thing."

Kitsune gazed into her beer and considered her friend's words. "I guess you're right," she said after a long moment. "Shinobu is pretty lucky. That was a good observation, Aoi. I never really thought about it like that."

"I didn't really do anything," shrugged Aoi. "I just repeated back to you your oh so poetic musings on love from earlier, Ms. Poet."

"What's with the 'Ms. Poet' stuff?" said Kitsune while giving her friend an odd look.

Aoi was smiling to herself again. "I'm just saying that what you were saying about first loves earlier was pretty poetic. I never really pictured you as the poetic sort."

"Aw, come on!" said Kitsune. "You make it sound like I said something out of Shakespeare or something. Besides, you've spent enough time in bars to know that booze and talking about your love life will turn *anyone* into a poet. Usually a bad one. So knock it off."

The blue-haired girl had one last dig to get in on her friend. "You used to write really angsty poetry when you were a teenager, didn't you?"

Kitsune blanched and glared at her friend. "Aoi!"

The other girl snickered loudly. "Hey, don't feel bad. It's something most teenage girls do at least once or twice. I admit it. I did that a few times.

"Hey, did you save any of them? Can I read them, Ms. Great Poet Kitsune," begged Aoi in an exaggerated voice.

"AOI!"

"All right, all right. I'll stop. From now on no more talk about romance, okay?"

"Okay," huffed Kitsune. "Come on, let's get with the gettin' blitzed. God knows I could do without remembering the last few minutes in the morning."

"Before we do that I just want your opinion on one last romantic thing," said Aoi. "I know what I said a second ago but…well, indulge me."

"Oh, all right," sighed Kitsune. "But make it quick. This beer's not getting any colder."

"Do you think that there really is a special someone out there for everyone?" asked Aoi simply.

Kitsune noted the serious look on her friend's face before pausing to consider. The foxgirl thought deeply for several moments before looking Aoi in the eye again. "Yeah, I actually do. I don't know why, but I do. My past experiences with love sure aren't evidence to support that, but that's how I feel. I guess…I guess I still like to think that there's some hope yet for romance."

Aoi gave a small, slightly sad smiled and raised her beer glass. "Yeah, I guess that's how I feel too. So here's to romance. May it lead us two sexy gals to our special someones."

"And may that day be sooner rather than later," added Kitsune with a melancholy smile of her own.

"Cheers!"

****

To be continued…

****

Author's notes: Well, after an absurdly long time, here is chapter three. My apologizes to everyone reading this for making them wait so long. Suffice to say there were several factors that lead to the delay.

The first was after chapter two that I felt it would be best to take a little break from _Foxheart_ in order to keep myself fresh. So I went and did some work on a _Buffy the_ _Vampire Slayer/Oh My Goddess_! fic called _Brimstone Raising_ that I've been working on for…well, about three years now. It's the longest fic I've ever done at about 60,000 words and counting. And the end of the story is still a ways off too. Sometimes I really do wonder how I get myself into these things.

Anyway, the next and biggest factor was that I'm in college so classes, homework, studying and hanging out with my friends were also pressing on my time. 

Lastly was the fact that in February I found out I'd been accepted as an exchange student to Sapporo University in Sapporo, Japan. Which is where I am as I write this on a warm June evening. As you can imagine, adding in getting everything lined up for eight months overseas (I arrived in May and go home in December) took up even more of my time. Plus, once I got here I had to settle in, start classes, and learn to get around as so on.

But now I'm in a comfortable grove so hopefully I can speed up the next chapter. I had to leave all my _Love Hina_ manga back at home, but used manga can be had here for about 10% of what I'd pay in the US, so I'll likely just get the whole series again just to have as reference. 

I already picked up _Love Hina Zero_ and _Infinity_. If you don't know those are special editions of supplementary material that were put out for the diehard fans. There's no new LH stories or anything, but there's a gold mine of great information in them. One little fact I discovered is going to have a HUGE impact on the story in later chapters. I've never seen this bit of information mentioned anywhere else so I hope you don't mind if I choose to keep it to myself for now.

Now for a few ruminations about the story itself. The main thing in this chapter was introducing Aoi. As I was thinking about Kitsune while working out this story it occurred to me that we know that she drinks with other people when she goes out, we know absolutely nothing about who those people are. At the same time I'd also been thinking that Kitsune needed someone outside the Hinata to talk with, but not necessarily share the more intimate and personal details of her life. Making that person one of her drinking buddies seemed the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone.

The thing is, Aoi isn't a character I created. I actually lifted her from a computer game/anime called _Pia Carrot 2_. To save someone the trouble of pointing this out later, I'll tell you up front that the _Pia Carrot_ series started off as a series of hentai games. However, like titles such as _To Heart_ and _Kannon_ before it, _Pia Carrot_'s strong story and likeable characters lead it to break out and enjoy mainstream success. There was also a _Pia Carrot 3_, but I honestly don't know much about it.

Both _Pia Carrot 1_ & _2_ had three episode hentai OAV series which I've never seen. I have, however, seen non-hentai _Pia Carrot 2 DX_ OVAs (DX stands for 'deluxe' in Japan). Aoi's character is sort of a mix of how she was in the anime and how it was in the game.

There were three reasons I choose to us Aoi. The first was simply that she was my favorite character from _Pia Carrot 2_. Second, she really was a lot like Kitsune so she seemed a perfect choice as Kitsune's friend. Finally, I just wasn't that hot on creating an original character. I'm not a big fan of OCs since most stories I've read that have them to be dominated or just dragged down by new characters. 

However, I'm not totally against original characters. You can only tell so many stories with established characters so new characters are needed to keep things fresh. I've done a few original characters in my time because I thought they were needed not to be some addition to the cast, but to simply tell the story I wanted to tell. I guess that in the end I feel that original characters work best when used wisely and in moderation. 

That said, while planning out this story I came up with something I wanted to explore that could only be with an original character. It's a theme that has been explored to a degree in the _Love Hina_ universe before, but I wanted to take a different slant on things and so an original character was needed.

Sorry for being so vague, but this is also something that won't be showing up for a long time but I wanted to talk about it now. But I will tell you this; one thing it won't be a new girl moving into the Hinata. That's been done in other stories and I really have no interest in going there.

It also will not be some new guy trying to steal Kitsune away, though I will admit to briefly considering trying something like that. However, that was tried with Kentaro going after Naru in the anime. I was never really taken with Kentaro as a character so I decided not to go there.

There's actually a long story behind my calling the bar Highpoints. But in a nutshell that was going to be a under 21 club that was going to be a main location in an original series that I planned for a few years then lost interest it. 

The Highpoints in this story was pretty different that the way I first imagined it. For this story I just thought, "If I were to open up a bar what would I want it to be like?" In the end I drew on all the trips I've made to various Plant Hollywood restaurants for how the décor would be. Though in my bar you don't have bad rock music cranked up so high you can't talk with the people at your table and the hamburgers aren't badly cooked and overpriced.

With the longwinded stuff out of the way, let's get to some of the Easter eggs in the story.

_I was going to go to the shrine thing with my friend Ryoko. But she somehow got her hands on two tickets to a special New Year's Day concert by _Firebomber_ at the Tokyo Dome. So we decided going to that instead._

_Firebomber_ is the name of the rock band the main characters were members of in _Macross 7_. Just as an extra tidbit, I've actually been to the Tokyo Dome once. It really is a pretty nice place. 

__

I went the Hinata Shrine anniversary celebration.

One of the goodies in _Love Hina Infinity_ is a map of Hinata City. From that I was able to learn the name of the shrine where everyone went for New Years. I've since gone back and made corrections regarding this in the earlier chapters. 

__

When Kitsune did speak of her building manager she usually stared things off by saying something like, 'You'll never believe what I did to Keitaro this time!'

This was a line I was actually a bit dubious about because I wasn't entirely convinced that that was how Kitsune would talk about Keitaro. But then I got to thinking about the way she seemed to enjoying toying with him just after he arrived at the Hinata. While it's true Keitaro was pretty much a stranger to her at that time, I still think that up until the events of the last chapter that the fun she would have got from messing with him would still be there.

__

Did I hit a nerve asking about you and Keitaro? Hhhmm?

Originally this chapter was going to be my version of the story Keitaro and Naru taking their practice exams from volume 2. But as time passed and I found that I still hadn't started on that I began to feel bad for the people out there who I knew were looking forward to more. So after some thought the idea of a little side scene popped into my head.

The whole point of this chapter was to really drive home the fact that Kitsune's relationship with Keitaro has changed on a fundamental level. Aoi's asking her about her relationship with Keitaro kinda forces Kitsune to start to really realize this. She was sorta aware that their relationship would change after she told him about her family but the full consequences of that are just now starting to hit her and she's a little uncomfortable with that.

I also wanted to point out that at this point Kitsune and Keitaro are essentially just friends. Friends who were a lot less close just a two days before. 

I kinda like to think of the romance I'm trying to create between the two at this point being like a snowball rolling down a mountain. The snowball has just starting rolling and isn't much to look at right now. But it'll get bigger as it gains momentum and will finally come to an end with a big crash of some sort. 

The crash, I'm afraid, you'll just have to wait for.

__

That Seta guy. It's been what…Three years since you last saw him?"

A large part of the planning of this story was sitting down and working out a timeline of events and trying to figure out just how old the characters would have been when certain things happened. Since I knew I'd have to leave it behind when I came to Japan one thing I did before leaving was go over as much of my manga as I could and try and create my own timeline to bring with me to help me keep track of everything. 

I thought it turned out pretty well considering that I'd never done anything like that before. Then I got _Love Hina Infinity_ only find that it had a far more detailed timeline than the one I'd made. Of course, I can't fully read it but I'll still make the best use of it I can.

__

Being in love for the first time is different. When you realize you're in love for the first time it's like someone takes a blindfold off you that you've been wearing your whole life never knowing it. The whole world looks different and the person you're in love with…well, they just seem to shine.

When I was trying to write how Kitsune felt about Seta I did a lot of thinking about how I was the first time I fell in love, how it changed me and the fact that I never told that girl how I felt about her. I think that those feelings are something that most people go through at some point in their lives so putting myself in Kitsune's shows was pretty easy for this part.

__

Aoi arched an eyebrow. "Consequences be damned?"

Kitsune's grin only got bigger. "Consequences be damned."

Kitsune's got a real 'devil may care' attitude and I wanted to show that that aspect of her personality really does color her feelings on all relationships. Remember the 'carpe diem' line from chapter one? 

__

I get my share of perverted guy stuff from Keitaro back home. At least there it's funny. Anywhere else, unless I'm trying to weasel a few free rounds of sake out of the guy, it's just a pain in the ass.

This was another bit I worried about a little. Clearly Kitsune enjoys having people think she's sexy a lot. But how a guy actually hitting on her would make her act is something we really don't see in the manga. Just based on my own observations of men and women I think that Kitsune might enjoy the attention at first, but that even she has her limits on that sort of thing. 

That's why I had the bit in the last chapter where Kitsune realizes that the reason she blushed after Keitaro told her he thought she looked pretty when she smiled was because she was hearing a genuine compliment from someone. It wasn't just a cheap line to try and get her in the sack. Of which I'm sure Kitsune has heard many over the years. After all, there's a difference between someone looking at you and thinking you're sexy and someone looking at you like you're a piece of meat.

Women are many things and stupid is not one of them. When it comes to those types of looks they can tell the difference with uncanny accuracy.

__

I like the physical as much as much as the next healthy young gal, but I really could do without sixty-year-old guys trying to grab my butt for a cheap thrill.

Here I'm actually drawing on some of the horror stories told to me by my friend Julie about some of the stuff she's had to endure while working as a waitress. While I never had it as bad as does, I used to work as a hotel desk clerk. So I have some knowledge of what it's like to have to deal with a constant stream of abuse from total strangers and have to stand there, take it and smile at them the whole time.

I really can't think of anything that will instill in you a hatred for all humanity more than a couple of months working a job in the service sector. That experience actually helped me to understand why Kitsune hops from job to job all the time. After about three months I'd had all I could take of the desk clerk job and quite. 

__

After all, who wants to be seen trying to feel up the waitress in front of a mother and her two-year-old kid or someone like that?

_Pia Carrot 2_ fans will of course know that the people Aoi is talking about here is sexy single mom Harue and her cute two-year-old daughter Kaoru. 

Originally I was just going to have Aoi be the only character from the _Pia Carrot 2_ game in the story. But as I wrote my rabid PC2 fanboy instincts kidded in and I ended up referencing most characters in the game. Heck, I even put in the vegetable guy from the _Pia Carrot 2 DX_ OVAs.

I guess I do own people not into _Pia Carrot_ stuff a small apology for indulging myself like that. But looking back I think it was a good idea. Talking about her co-workers was a fun and effective way of fleshing out Aoi's character a bit more. 

Maybe down the road Kitsune will take Aoi up on her offer to visit the Pia Carrot 2 with the rest of the Hinata gang possibly in tow. I could really have some fun with that. Plus, it would give the LH cast some new to play off of other than each other. 

I'll have to give that idea more consideration.

For reference, that Yusuke guy Aoi's in love with was the hero of the first _Pia Carrot_ game. The girl he's marrying is presumably whomever anyone playing _Pia Carrot 1_ thought he should have ended up with in the first game. Personally, my favorites were Yukiko and Yukari. If you want to get a bit more insight on the _Pia Carrot 2_ characters has some good information and a lot of fantastic (non-hentai) images from the game can be found at 

__

Get her angry and you'll get a sword in your face faster than you can 'Masamune'.

There's a lot of history associated with swords bearing the name 'masamune'. But I was mostly thinking of the fact that weapons by that name can be found in several _Final Fantasy_ games.

__

They were about your age and both had short hair and glasses. One was tall and the other on the short side. I don't remember what they called each other, but I was the one who had to serve them so I heard some of their conversation. I'm pretty sure the tall one's name started with and H and the short guy's with an S.

Boy, Haitani and Shirai just never learn, do they? I wonder what they were doing in Hinata City though. ;) 

__

I liked writing the part where Aoi and Kitsune talk about the relationship between Keitaro and Shinobu. Not only does it give a bit of a look into how others see that relationship but it also highlights some of Keitaro's best points to Kitsune.

__

"What's with the 'Ms. Poet' stuff?" said Kitsune while giving her friend an odd look.

This bit came out of some concern I had as to if I was making Kitsune a bit too philosophical. So Aoi's teasing and Kitsune's retort about how drinking turns everyone into a philosopher in my mind serve to bring things back down to earth.

I've actually had what Kitsune was talking about happen to me. While I was writing this section I kept thinking back to a night I went out drinking with a good friend of mine and we ended up having a long talk about this one girl we both had really strong feelings for until we were both pretty trashed. We talked a lot about the bitter side of love that night, believe you me.

However, I do think that Kitsune does have a little philosopher in her. Remember the story where she pretended to be in love with Keitaro just to make Naru shout and her to stop had Kitsune giving Naru a little lesson on "The A-B-Cs of love?" I think that is one of Kitsune's shining moments in the manga. 

__

You used to write really angsty poetry when you were a teenager, didn't you?

I know girls who really did do this when they were in high school. Somehow I could just picture Kitsune during one of those really bleak times everyone has in high school grabbing some paper and pouring out the sort of bad poetry on fifteen year old girls can write. 

I added than in mostly because it just seemed a really human thing to do and that it also reminded readers that in my _Love Hina_ universe Kitsune went through some very hard times during her adolescence.

__

"Do you think that there really is a special someone out there for everyone?" asked Aoi simply.

One of the themes of _Love Hina_ is Keitaro and Naru, who were pretty much meant for each other since they were children, finding their way back to each other and falling in love again. But since this is Keitaro and Kitsune's story I wanted to put in her take on if there is someone out there for everyone.

Given the way she acts towards Keitaro and Naru's relationship and sex in the manga it is hard not to feel that Kitsune has something of a unique view of romance. But under all that I do like to think that she's something of a romantic at heart. I think that's why she pushed Keitaro and Naru together so much.

Anyway, it's time I wrapped this up. After the heavy angst and emotional stuff of the last few chapters I'm looking to get back to more of the comedy aspects of _Love Hina_ next chapter. Stay tuned.


	4. Testing 1,2,3

January 15

Hinata City, Japan

"Ready for the next question, Keitaro?"

"Shoot, Naru."

"Okay. What is the capitol of the Canadian province of British Columbia?"

"Oh, that's easy. It's Vancouver."

Naru shook her head. "Wrong."

"Say what?"

Naru turned the book so that her study partner could see and pointed to a map. "See? The correct answer is Victoria."

"Aw, man! How could I have forgotten that?" moaned Keitaro. "I was studying that just last night."

"Don't have an aneurysm," said Naru. "You've gotten more questions right tonight than you have wrong. That's not so bad."

"Easy for you to say Ms.-Top-in-Japan-on-the-Mock-Exam," grumbled Keitaro.

"You're pretty much a shoo-in on this test."

"If all you're going to do is whine and feel sorry for yourself then I'll go back to my room and study by myself!" snapped Naru. "The exam is in the morning and top marks on the cram school test or not I want to be as ready for this as I can."

Keitaro looked abashed and his eyes feel to the floor. "Yeah, you're right. I…didn't mean what I said it's just…I'm really nervous. That's all."

Naru gave Keitaro an appraising look for a moment and then shrugged. "Okay, since it's the night before the exam and we're both pretty stressed I'll cut you a break and not sock you one for saying something like that to me."

"Uh, thanks," gulped the ronin. "Ready for your next question?"

"Fire away," said Naru, confidently. "I've really been kicking butt on these history questions tonight."

"Okay. Who was the commander of The Spanish Armada?

A) The Duke of Parma

B) King Phillip II

C) The Duke of Medina Sedonia

D) Francis Drake

E) Lord Howard

"That isn't too hard," said Naru. "Lord Howard and Francis Drake were part of the British forces who fought the Armada so clearly it wasn't them. I'm pretty sure it was King Phillip II."

"Sorry, no."

"Say what?!" Naru reached across the table, snatched the book from Keitaro's hands and began to read.

"Phillip was the ruler of Spain at the time and the one who sent the Armada to attack England. But the guy who was in charge of the Armada itself was the Duke of Medina Sedonia," supplied Keitaro.

"Gah! How could I make a mistake like that?" groused Naru. "If I'd just paid more attention to the question itself I'd have gotten it right."

"I think the stress of everything that's been happening around here lately and studying for the exam is getting to the both of us," said Keitaro.

Naru took a deep breath, sighed and nodded. "I think you're right. Knowing that I'll be taking the preliminary exam in less than twelve hours is getting to me a bit. I mean, right now I feel so antsy it's hard to sit still."

"Same here. Today I cleaned the bath area and the second floor hallways, ran some errands for Haruka, got kicked in the head by Su and helped Shinobu with the dishes. That's in addition to trying to study every free moment I had. I should be ready to drop but instead I feel totally wired."

"You wanna take a little break?" asked Naru. "My brain could use some downtime."

"Sounds good. How about we go to the convenience store on Nishioka street?" suggested the ronin. "I wouldn't mind a snack. Besides, I just really want to get outside for a little while and move around a bit."

"Fresh air sounds like just the thing," said Naru. "I'll meet you at the front door in a minute. I just want to pop back to my room and grab a jacket real quick."

"See you in a few," said Keitaro as his study partner stood up to leave.

Minutes later the duo met in front of the entrance to the Hinata House. Without a word spoken the two headed down the long staircase that led to the street.

"I can't believe how quickly the snow melted," mused Keitaro as he and Naru strolled through the quite nighttime streets of Hinata City.

"Yeah, after such a white Christmas I was surprised too," said Naru. "I hope this means spring will come early this year."

"Looking forward to the sakura?"

"Yeah, I am," confirmed the auburn-haired girl. "We always have a big cherry blossom viewing party with lots of stuff to eat and drink. Your grandma told me that it was a Hinata House tradition once."

"It has been for a long time from what I understand. I remember there being a big party here during sakura season once when I was a kid," said Keitaro. "I remember my folks made a special trip here to Hinata City because the blossoms were supposed to be really pretty that year."

He then chuckled. "Oh man, I just remembered. Both my folks got really sloshed at the party. My mom had a hangover for two days and my dad almost drowned when he fell in the river behind the main building. Aunt Haruka managed to pull him out just in time. Boy, was she mad! I don't think he'd ever been chewed out by a junior high school student before."

Naru giggled loudly. "That sounds hysterical. But I'll warn you right now our sakura viewing parties are just about as crazy. Two years ago grandma and I had to physically stop Kitsune from pulling her clothes off and going streaking!"

Keitaro gulped and felt his face flush. _Don't let Naru see you having dirty thoughts! Don't let Naru see you having dirty thoughts! Don't let Naru see you having dirty thoughts! Don't let Naru see you having dirty thoughts!_ he thought.

Lucky for Keitaro Naru was too busy reminiscing to notice. After a moment she turned to Keitaro and gave him a half smile. "I just realized this will be your first sakura viewing with us."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess so," fumbled the young ronin. "It's hard to believe I only moved in back in October. It feels like much longer. I guess it's because so much has happened these last few months."

"Things have gotten more…interesting since you moved in, that's for sure."

Keitaro scratched the back of his head and looked away from Naru. "Um, is that interesting in a good or bad way?"

Naru stopped and gave the Hinata's manager another appraising look. Then she cracked a small, mischievous smile. "That kinda changes from day to day."

Keitaro feel his heartbeat quicken at Naru's smile. "And just what kind of day is today?"

Naru's smile got a bit bigger. "Today? Today…I don't mind having you around." Before Keitaro could form a reply Naru turned away and picked up her pace. "Come on, Keitaro. We're almost there."

"Uh, yeah, right. I'm coming!"

A few minutes later the pair arrived at the nearby outlet of the Lawson convenience store chain. "Welcome!" greeted the clerk, a young woman with bleached hair and a slightly nasal voice.

"So what do you want?" asked Keitaro as he glanced around the store.

"I think I'm in the mood for something sweet," said Naru. "How about some chocolate bread?"

"That sounds good to me to. Should we get something to drink to?"

"Yes. We might not be feeling it right now but we really worked ourselves hard studying tonight. Get something that'll give us back all those electrolytes and stuff we must have worked off."

"Like a sports drink then," said Keitaro. "Is Aquarius okay?"

"I like Pocari Sweat better," replied Naru. "You grab the drinks and I'll get the bread, okay?"

"Okay."

The housemates quickly secured their snack, paid for it and headed back out into the cool night air.

"Ah, the air feels really good right now," said Naru.

"How about we go somewhere else for a bit? I don't feel like going back to the Hinata just yet."

Keitaro nodded in agreement and looked around the area for several moments. "Say, how about we go to Shin Odori Park? It's just a few blocks from here if I remember right."

"That sounds really nice," said Naru. "We could go and sit on those benches down by the duck pond. I've always liked it there."

"All right. I used to go there and feed the ducks with grandma when I was a kid." Keitaro then gave a little chuckle to himself. "Now that I think about it, I haven't been to Shin Odori Park since I moved here. Boy, this little run to the convenience store is really turning into a nostalgia trip."

"For you and me both," added Naru. "Anyway, shall we be off?"

"Sure."

By some unspoken agreement neither of pair spoke until they reached the part and found a comfortable bench with an excellent view of the duck pond. The moon was bright and the sky was cloudless. The only sounds to be heard were the chirping of insects and the quacking of ducks. The pair settled on the bench and began to watch the ducks as they enjoyed their snack. 

"Feeling any more relaxed?" asked Keitaro, eventually.

"I am," said Naru. "Getting out for a bit was just the thing I needed."

For a while the two were again quite. It was Keitaro who ended up speaking first.

"Naru?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you're ready for tomorrow?"

Naru took a deep breath, huffed and then gave a small smile. "It's weird. If you'd asked me that back at the house I'd have said 'no' because I was so tense. But out here…all the stress and worry seems to be gone. I feel like I could take the test right now and pass it with flying colors."

Keitaro gave his housemate a smile and a look of admiration. "I'm not surprised you feel that way. You are #1 in Japan on the practice exams. I don't think getting into Tokyo U will be too difficult for you. Me, on the other hand…I know it's just the preliminary test, which I've passed twice before, but…I'm still not all that confident in myself."

Naru returned the ronin's look with a hard frown. "With an attitude like that you're going to fail for sure."

Keitaro blinked. "Huh?"

Naru's frown deepened and she leaned in to look her companion in the eyes. "Get this through your thick head, Keitaro, and do it now. If you go into the testing center tomorrow with an attitude like that you'll fail for sure."

"That's easy for you to say," responded Keitaro. "You don't have having failed to get into Tokyo U twice already hanging over your head."

At that Naru's frown went away. "Don't you believe in me?" she asked quietly.

"What!?" sputtered the ronin. "Of course I do! I know you're not going to fail!"

"That's not what I meant," retorted Naru, anger creeping into her voice. "I mean I've spent all this time working together with you to get us both ready for this test. Are you telling me that all that time was a waste? Didn't I tell you I thought you could make it? Didn't you promise me we'd go to Tokyo U together?"

_…go to Tokyo U together…_

Those words rang in Keitaro's like bells in a cathedral. For a moment the face of the little girl from his promise floated about Naru's features. Then that image faded and he saw Naru wearing her glasses with her hair in pigtails; the clothes she'd worth when they'd made that promise to each other on New Year's Day.

_To our double entry!_

Without even thinking about it Keitaro reached out and grabbed Naru's hand. "You're right, Naru! I've been studying harder than ever and I've had the best tutor in all of Japan to help me. Tomorrow I'm going to take that test and I'm going to kick ass! I will keep my promise to you!"

_Wow_, thought Naru as she looked at her study partner. _I've never really seen Keitaro this fired up before. He actually seems a little…cool._

_God, she's beautiful_, thought Keitaro. _She smells really nice too. Is that perfume or her shampoo? Why didn't I notice how good she smelled before?_

It was then that the pair noticed that their faces had drifted very close together and that they were still holding hands. _Carpe diem_, though Keitaro as he closed his eyes and leaned in for a kiss.

Instead he got a punch in the face. The ronin sailed through the air for several yards before slamming into a tree with a bone-jarring jolt.

"Just because we were getting a little touchy feely doesn't give you the right to get touchy feely!" howled Naru.

"I should have known it was too good to last," muttered Keitaro through the pain.

"And I should have known you were going to try something cheap when you suggested we come here," said Naru, angrily as she began to stomp out of the park.

"Naru! I didn't mean too--"

Naru stopped and whipped around. "I don't want to hear it, Keitaro! I was actually having a nice time with you until you decided to try and be perverted. Now unless you want another knuckle sandwich I don't wanna see your face again until tomorrow at breakfast! If you're lucky I might not still be pissed by then."

Without another word Naru stormed off into the night.

"Aw, man," grumbled Keitaro as he got to his feet. "Why does something like this always happen whenever I think Naru and I have started to make some progress?"

After heaving another sign Keitaro headed back to the bench and plopped himself down. "I suppose I'd better give Naru a head start. If I were to run into her on the way back to the Hinata she'd just deck me again. I've had enough of that for one day, thank you very much."

And so the ronin found himself in the park staring up at the stars with the moon as his only companions.

About forty minutes later Keitaro, his shoulders deeply slumped, trudged through the main door of the Hinata House. "I'm home," he sighed softly to no one in particular.

"Hey! Who's there?" came a voice from the nearby common area.

Keitaro looked over to see Kitsune's head pop up over the edge of one of the couches. "Oh, it's just you, Keitaro. I should have guessed."

"Hey, Kitsune," greeted the ronin, halfheartedly, as he took off his shoes. "What are you up to?"

"I came down for a late night snack and then decided I didn't feel like carrying it back to my room. So I just ate right here to save myself the trouble of having to bring the dishes back down again later."

The ronin saw a dish with some unidentifiable crumbs on it and an empty bottle of beer on the table in front of the couch. "I see. Say…have you seen Naru by any chance?"

At that the foxgirl arched an eyebrow. "Naru? Oh yeah, I've seen her. She came in, muttering nasty stuff about a certain ronin to herself and marched right up to her room just after I came downstairs. I didn't know she even knew words like that."

Keitaro buried his hands in his face. "Dammit! I really screwed up tonight."

"Hey, hey, don't be like that!" said Kitsune, cheerfully. She then patted the seat next to her. "Come on, Keitaro. Come over here and tell me what happened. It might not be as bad as you think."

Reluctantly the ronin went over to the couch and sat down. "I don't know if I want to talk about this," began Keitaro. "I mean, it's personal sort of stuff."

Kitsune again arched an eyebrow. "Are you saying the two of us can't share personal stuff?"

"No! No! Not at all!" sputtered Keitaro as he wildly waved his hands in denial. "I didn't mean it that way!" After a moment the ronin calmed down and sighed. "I suppose you're right, Kitsune. It's just…I'm not really used to people wanting to hear about my personal problems."

"Well, we've got a special thing between us," said Kitsune, sincerely. "You were there when I needed someone to talk to so it's only fair that I repay the favor. Besides, I'm Naru's best friend. So it's not like she isn't going to come and tell me all about it sooner or later anyway. Wouldn't you like me to hear your side of it too?"

"Ugh! I hadn't thought of that," moaned Keitaro. "Since you put it that way…" With that the ronin filled his housemate in on the events of earlier in the evening.

"Whoa! Keitaro! You actually tried to kiss Naru!" gasped Kitsune. "Wow, she was wrong about you. You actually do have some balls!"

"That's good to—What?! She said what about me!?"

The foxgirl scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "Uh, oops. I think that was supposed to be a secret."

A low groan escaped from the ronin. "Oh, this clinches it. Naru hates me now for sure."

"She does not. Just tell her you're sorry tomorrow and I'm sure she'll forgive you."

"You're sure? I don't want her mad at me when we take the test tomorrow."

"Naru can be a real grump sometimes but she'll get over it," assured Kitsune. "Believe me, I've pissed her off more than a few times myself and she always comes around after she's had some time to get it out of her system."

"I suppose that is the only thing I can do." Keitaro then stood up and stretched a bit. "It's getting a little late. If I wanna be ready for the test tomorrow I think I'd better turn in."

"I think I'll grab a late night bath before I hit the sack," said the foxgirl as she stood as well. "I'll put the dishes away once I'm done."

"Goodnight, Kitsune."

"'Night, Keitaro."

The pair then headed off to their destinations. But after a few steps Keitaro stopped and turned around.

"Uh, Kitsune?"

"Yeah?" said Kitsune as she too stopped.

"Thanks for listening to me tonight. I really needed that."

"No problem. What are friends for, ya know?"

Keitaro scratched the right side of his face in a nervous manner. "Right. Friends. I, uh, just want to say that talking with you tonight and the other night…was pretty cool. This place being the mad house it usually is I don't really get the chance to just sit down and talk with anyone much. I think it'd be cool if…we could talk some more from time to time. Not just when something is bothering one of us. Like friends and all."

Kitsune smiled. "Yeah, that does sound pretty cool. The Hinata really can be insanity central sometimes. I suppose us actual adults need to stick together a bit, don't we?"

"Um, I guess so."

"Okay then, Keitaro, I'll take to you later. That'll be another promise between the two of us."

It was now the ronin's turn to smile. "You've got a deal."

With a silent nod the pair then headed off.

Several minutes later Kitsune sat contently in the Hinata's hotsping bath. A bottle of sake sat on a small trap that floated in the water nearby. The foxgirl's cheeks were flushed slightly red and it wasn't from just the hot water.

"Oh, now this is the life," sighed Kitsune in contentment. For a time the foxgirl sat merely enjoying the bath and her drink. Then an amused grim danced across her face.

"I still can't believe Keitaro worked up the guts to try and kiss Naru. Either he's really found some new confidence in himself or he wanted to put that supposed immortality of his to the acid test."

Kitsune took another long sip of sake. "Now that I think about it, it must be the former. Keitaro seems to have become a bit stronger than he was when he first came here. I'd have never shared my problem with my folks with him the way he was then."

The foxgirl frowned. "Crap, my folks. I really am going to have to start coming up with something to get them to back off of the idea of me going to America with them. The Hinata's my home now and…well…everyone here, as strange as they may be, really are like a family to me."

Kitsune turned and looked up toward the Hinata and located the darkened window that belonged to Keitaro's room. "That includes you too, ya dumb ronin. You haven't been here long but despite being a guy somehow you fit right in. That little conversation we just had shows it. I don't open up to just anyone. This fox likes her secrets.

"It's funny. The last time I opened up to a guy like that…" The foxgirl frowned again. She then reached for the sake bottle, grabbed it and knocked back a very long drink. "No, I don't think I want to think about that tonight. No point in ruining a perfectly good evening with bad memories."

After another long drink that finished off the sake Kitsune climbed out of the bath and headed for the changing area.

After taking his leave of Kitsune Keitaro had returned to his room, changed into his pajamas and settled down on his futon. But try as he might the ronin couldn't keep his eyes from drifting to the slat of wood in the ceiling that covered the entrance to Naru's room.

"I need to relax," Keitaro muttered to himself. "Kitsune was right. Naru will forgive if I just tell her I'm sorry. She always has before."

The memory of the park and the pre-punch conversation the pair had floated back to him and Keitaro smiled to himself. "Well, it was cool while it lasted. Plus, it's been a while since Naru and I talked like that. Just person to person. Actually, now that I think about it, almost all we've talked about these last few weeks has be stuff related to the test. That…kinda sucks.

"Damn! Why can't we talk more often about…normal stuff? I've been living here almost three months and I still don't know that much about Naru. I don't what her favorite TV show is, or her favorite band or…or even what she wants to study when she gets into Tokyo U!"

Keitaro heaved a sigh and frowned. "I guess I could just ask her that stuff. But I don't want to seem like I'm prying. Besides, Naru seems to be a pretty private person. I think the only people around here she's really opened up to are Kitsune, grandma and maybe Haruka.

But it's not like I could get anything out of any of them. Grandma's gone off who knows where, Haruka's not the sort who'd ever tell me anything like that and Kitsune, as wild as she may be, doesn't the seem type to share anything truly personal Naru might have told her no matter how small. That is what best friends do, after all."

The ronin turned on his side and tried to make himself more comfortable. "Now that I think about it, I can see why Naru confides in Kitsune. She is pretty easy to talk to. Heck, she was the first of the girls here who actually tried to make me feel welcome."

Keitaro's thoughts flashed a few memories of his first day at the Hinata across his mind causing him to give a little chuckle. "Boy, I'll never forget that day. I meet all the girls, almost got killed by them and even got to touch a pair of boobs for the first time. I know Kitsune grabbed my hand and put it on her chest just to screw with my head but still…" The ronin grinned a small grin. "Man, those were some nice boobs! All big and soft and pert!"

The ronin suddenly bolted upright and looked around wildly. After several moments he breathed a sigh of relief. "I can't believe I said that without Naru or

Motoko busting in here to bring down the wrath of God on my head. Note to self; watch it when it comes to the talking out loud."

Keitaro settled himself back down on the futon and willed himself to relax. After a few minutes he felt his eyelids growing heavy. "Maybe I should look on the bright side of today. I managed to have two, count 'em two, actual conversations with two cute girls. Maybe that fortune wasn't so messed up after all. Maybe…I'm finally learning how to talk to girls."

With that Keitaro let his eyes close and was fully asleep moments later.

January 16

Hinata City, Japan

The loud buzz of the alarm roused Naru Narusagawa from her sleep with a minimum of effort. After shutting the alarm off she stretched and looked out the window. The January sky was clear and the golden hues of dawn could still be seen fading slowly outside.

"This is it," Naru smiled to herself. "Today I get one big step closer to Tokyo U!"

After washing up and changing Naru headed down the main staircase with a noticeable spring in her step. Even from the stairwell she could smell the breakfast Shinobu had made. As usual it smelled wonderful. But the auburn-haired girl came to a dead stop once she saw that someone had been waiting for her halfway down the stairs.

"Uh, good morning," said Keitaro, weakly.

Naru scowled. "Well, it seemed like it was going to be that way until you showed up."

Keitaro mentally sighed. This was going to be just as hard as he'd imagined. "Look, Naru, you're mad at me and you have every right to be. I shouldn't have tried to kiss you last night and I'm sorry."

The scowl on Naru's face was gone but her expression was now solidly neutral. "Go on," she bade.

__

Oh, she's really going to make me work for this, thought the ronin. _Well, I made my own bed. I guess now I have to lie in it._ "I'm not really sure what else I can say. When we were talking it felt like we were really, really connecting and I just kinda got struck by how really pretty you were and the night was so nice and…"

"Keitaro, you're babbling," interrupted Naru.

"Uh, right. Right. Look, Naru, I let myself get caught up in the moment and did something really dumb," said Keitaro, earnestly. "The only things I can think to say are that I'm sorry and that even if you don't forgive me I'm going to do my best on that test today. Because I made a promise to you and I'm going to do everything I can to keep it!"

A long, slow moment then passed between the pair. Naru then huffed in annoyance. "Part of me still wants to hit you again for last night. But after that little speech I'd feel like I'd just kicked a puppy."

"So does this mean you forgive me?"

Naru rolled her eyes. "Yes, Keitaro, I forgive you! Just keep those perverted lips of yours away from me or I'll make 'em good and fat! Got it?"

"Perfectly," replied the ronin who was clearly relived.

"Good," said Naru. "Now either go downstairs or move. Our breakfast isn't going to get any warmer and if we don't show up soon Su might eat our share."

"Good point," said Keitaro.

With fences between them now mended the duo headed downstairs.

As fate would have in Keitaro and Naru managed to arrive just in time to stop Su from eating their share of breakfast despite Shinobu's fervent pleas for her to stop. Fortunately one stern look from Motoko was all it took for the strange foreign girl to relent.

After that breakfast was eaten quickly but without incident. Once the dishes had been cleared away the residents of Hinata House gathered at the main entrance to see the Tokyo U hopefuls off.

"Here's your bag, sempai," said Shinobu. "You left it under the table during breakfast."

"Oh, thanks a lot, Shinobu," replied the ronin. "I didn't even notice I'd forgotten it."

"Jeez, Keitaro, get on the ball, will you," chided Naru. "Isn't your exam registration ticket in there? If you don't have that they won't you take the center exam."

"I know. I know." Keitaro hoisted the bag over his shoulder and gave the young girl a warm smile. "You really saved my butt on that one, Shinobu. I owe you one!"

Shinobu blushed deeply. "It, it was nothing, sempai! I was just trying to be helpful."

"I don't know anyone who's more helpful that you, Shinobu. Things would be fifty times more crazy around here without you."

The young girl blushed deeper.

"Plus, if Shinobu wasn't around we'd have to eat Naru's cooking more often," added Kitsune.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with my cooking!" retorted Naru.

"Except that it looks like it comes from another planet," replied the foxgirl.

"I think Naru's cooking is yummy!" exclaimed Su.

"See! Su likes my cooking!" said Naru.

Kitsune gave Su an inquiring look. "If that's true then why do you always put extra curry on your food when whenever Naru cooks? About three times as much as you normally use at that."

"Uh…well…"

"Correct me if I am wrong, but does not the bus that goes to Hinata University arrive at the stop down the street in exactly one minute?" interrupted Motoko.

Everyone glanced at a nearby wall clock and saw that the kendo girl was indeed correct. "Crap! We're going to be late!" chorused Naru and Keitaro before dashing out the door at breakneck speed.

"Thank god we made it in time," sighed Naru in relief as she plopped down in one of the bus' seats. "I swear, I think we must have broken some kind of sprinting record."

"No kidding," agreed Keitaro as he sat down next to her. "My heart's pounding so hard it feels like it's going to burst right out of my chest."

"You sure that's just not nerves?"

"Well, I guess it's some of that too."

"If it is any comfort you're not the only one who's nervous."

"Just relax. I know you're going to do fine," assured Keitaro. "As long as you stay cool and do your best I'm sure you'll crush this exam."

Naru gave her companion a little smile. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sure I'll do just fine on the test. Heck, I'd better. I've got promises to keep."

__

Promises? thought Keitaro. _Shouldn't that just be "a promise"? As in the one she and I made on New Year's Day. Should I ask her what she meant? Nah. I'm sure it was just a slip of the tongue. Besides, I don't want to do anything to get on Naru's bad side right now._

About twenty minutes later the bus arrived at a stop across the street from Hinata University and the pair quickly climbed off.

"This is it. Showtime!" said Naru as she took a moment to look at the campus' main gate.

Next to her Keitaro nodded. "Yeah, this is it. This is where both or lives take a turn for the better!"

"Okay, Keitaro. Let's go do this!" said Naru, enthusiastically.

"Good luck to us both!" replied Keitaro as he flashed a thumbs up sign.

Naru returned the thumbs up and with that the duo headed toward the gate and their appointment with destiny.

Later that afternoon Kitsune, Motoko, Su and Shinobu sat waiting in the common area of the Hinata House.

"I believe it is now past the time that Naru and Urashima are due to return," said Motoko in a matter of fact tone.

"The last test should have ended about forty minutes ago so they should be here soon," said Kitsune.

"Naru and Keitaro need to hurry! Shinobu said she's not going to start dinner until they get here and I'm starving!" complained Su.

"Oh, I can see them coming up the stairs!" called Shinobu who had been standing sentry by the door.

The other three girls quickly scrambled over to the entrance area. Moments later Keitaro opened the door and he and Naru stepped through.

"Sempai. Naru. Welcome home," said Shinobu.

"Well, how'd it go?" asked Kitsune. "Don't keep us waiting!"

"Yes, we are eager to hear how the first day's testing went," added Motoko.

"Did you bring back any food?" whimpered Su.

The hangdog expression on Keitaro's face answered their questions for them.

"He's been like that the whole way home," sighed Naru.

Naru's words seemed to snap Keitaro back to reality. "Well, I did my best," the ronin began. "I don't think I did too well on the English, history and math parts though."

"Which just happed to be the parts we were tested on today," informed Naru.

Keitaro sighed deeply. "You see, I found myself running out of time with a lot of questions still blank. So I just had to go with my gut for a big part of the test."

"So you don't think you did well?" asked Shinobu, concerned.

The younger girl's voice brought a smile to Keitaro's face. "Don't worry, Shinobu. I promised you girls I'd get into Tokyo U and that's what I'll do come hell or high water."

"A laudable attitude," said Motoko with a nod of approval.

Kitsune shook her head slightly. "Jeez, Keitaro. You and promises, huh?"

The ronin gave a little chuckle. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. Still, when I make a promise I take it seriously."

"Don't starting worrying about how you did on the test right now," said Naru. "We've still got the second part of the test tomorrow. If you start thinking you did bad now you'll psyche yourself out and do even worse tomorrow."

"I guess you're right," nodded Keitaro. "I'm really spent from that test. I think I'll go take a nap until dinner is ready. Could someone give me a call then?"

"Resting now seems wise," replied Motoko. "I shall call for you when the meal is ready."

"Could you come get me too?" asked Naru. "I think I'd like a nap as well."

"Of course."

"Thanks a lot, Motoko," said Keitaro and he and Naru turned to go upstairs.

"Yeah, thanks," called Naru.

After the pair had headed off upstairs Su turned to Shinobu and gave her a huge set of puppydog eyes.

"Shinobu, could you please start dinner now!"

Shinobu repressed a little sigh and nodded. "Okay, Su. I'll go start dinner right now. I hope you're in the mood for Italian because I'm making spaghetti tonight."

"I want extra meatballs!" cheered Su.

"I guess that means Italian is just fine with Su," chuckled Kitsune.

Motoko just nodded her agreement in silence.

January 17

Hinata City, Japan

Campus of Hinata University

"Time's up!" announced the man standing at the front of the classroom. "On behalf of everyone here at Hinata University I'd like to wish all of you the best of luck to all of you."

"God knows I'm going to need that luck," muttered Keitaro as he stood from his seat and gathered his things. He then headed off to the front of the university library where he'd prearranged to meet up with Naru.

Sure enough Naru appeared just a few moments after Keitaro arrived at their rendezvous point.

"Hey, Keitaro," she greeted cheerfully. "So how do you think you did?"

The ronin responded by grabbing Naru by the shoulders and looking her square in the eyes with a look of fear and near panic on his face. "Oh, Naru! I think I blew it even worse than yesterday. Japanese was a huge disaster and I'm sure Biology was just as bad. I just know I've flunked again! After all those things I said last night how am I supposed to face Shinobu and the other girls! I'm the biggest loser ever! I just wanna die!"

Naru responded by belting Keitaro one in the face. However, this punch wasn't as hard as her usual ones and Keitaro was only knocked back enough to fall solidly on his butt. He then blinked and just stared at his housemate.

"First of all, keep your paws to yourself, pervert," replied Naru with unconcealed irritation. "Second, while on a normal day I might agree with that 'biggest loser ever' bit right now you're acting like the world's biggest drama queen.

"Lastly, you don't know anything for sure about how you did until you score your test for yourself. The answers will be in the evening edition of today's paper so just try and relax until then. I mean, do you really want the others to see you acting like that?"

Keitaro hung his head in shame. "You're right. I was being dumb. I was sure I'd failed the center exam the two times I took it before and somehow I managed to pass."

"That's not exactly a positive attitude. But I suppose I'll take what I can get." Naru then held out her hand to the ronin. "Come on, Keitaro. Let's go home."

Keitaro smiled slightly, took Naru's hand and let her help him to his feet. To be safe he made sure to take his hand away as quickly as possible. "Yeah, let's go home."

"So how long do you think it'll be before the evening paper arrives?" asked Keitaro as he and Naru climbed the final steps to the Hinata House.

"Another two hours or so, I guess," replied Naru.

"That's going to be a long two hours."

"I know. Just try and do something fun. That should help pass the time and it'll get your mind off the test."

"That's a really good idea," said Keitaro as he opened the door to the Hinata.

"Fun is exactly what we have in mind!" shouted a voice the pair stepped inside.

A brief shower of confetti enveloped the two Tokyo U hopefuls. Then in the common area they suddenly saw Shinobu, Su, Motoko and Kitsune standing by a long table covered in food. Above the table, stretching across the room was a large banner that read "Congratulations, Keitaro and Naru! Good Luck on the Center Exam!"

"What's all this?" asked Naru.

"What does it look like, you sillies? It's a party for you two to celebrate you taking the center exam!" explained Su as she waved around a pair of pom-poms.

"Go Naru! Go Keitaro! Go Team!"

"Where did Su get those pom-poms?" asked Keitaro.

"Does her school even have a cheerleading team?"

"She didn't get those from her school," said Kitsune as she came over and began to usher her housemates into the common area. "I let her borrow them from my cheerleader outfit."

"You have a cheerleader outfit!?" boggled Keitaro as he flushed red.

"Oh, I've got all sorts of fun things in my room. If you're a good boy maybe I'll show you some of them sometime," teased the foxgirl with a wink.

Keitaro turned even redder and felt a nosebleed coming on.

"Kitsune! Don't encourage him like that!" yelled Naru. "You're just putting filthy ideas in his head!"

"I am in agreement with Naru," interjected Motoko. "Such talk will only exacerbate Urashima's deviant tendencies."

"Hey! That's not fair!" protested the ronin.

"Aw, come on. Since when have guys needed anything to encourage them to have dirty thoughts?" asked Kitsune. "Seems to me they do that just fine on their own."

Naru and Motoko began to give Keitaro severe looks.

"Uh, everyone, the food is getting cold," interrupted Shinobu in hopes of defusing the situation.

Luckily for Keitaro this tactic worked and soon a fine little party was underway.

"Sempai, may I ask you a question?" said Shinobu as she refilled Keitaro's cup with sake.

"Sure, Shinobu. Fire away."

The young girl's face seemed to tinge a bit with red just before she spoke. "If you don't mind me asking, how do you think you did on your test?"

Keitaro took a quick drink of sake before giving Shinobu the best smile he could muster. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. The tests today were harder than I was expecting. All I can say for sure is that I feel I gave it my best."

"If…if sempai did his best then I'm sure you passed with flying colors!" replied Shinobu more loudly and more nervously than she'd planned.

This endorsement seemed to bolster the ronin's smile. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Shinobu. Hey, maybe you should be the one with the pom-poms and not Su. You've really been cheering me on a lot this last few weeks."

Shinobu suddenly felt as if her heart had wings. "You…you…noticed? I mean, I was…I just wanted you and Naru to do your best."

"Of course I noticed and don't think I'm not grateful," said Keitaro. "Naru really helped me with the academic stuff but I think you were the one who did the most when it came to keeping my morale up."

Keitaro was blushing a tad now himself. "When I was struggling with the test I kept thinking about how I didn't want to disappoint everyone after all the support and help they'd given. But…well…I especially did want let you down."

"But, sempai, I didn't really do anything special!" protested the young girl.

Keitaro shook his head. "That's not true at all. You believed in me. Heck, you even looked up to me. I've never really had anyone treat me like that before. Not disappointing you really means a lot to me."

"Sempai…"

"Hey, you two!" called Kitsune suddenly. "Where did we put the karaoke machine?"

The foxgirl's shout snapped Keitaro and Shinobu back to reality. Both now looked somewhat flustered and embarrassed.

"Sorry if I was laying it on too think there," said Keitaro. "I just wanted to say that I didn't want to let you down because you cheering me on and looking up to me means a lot to me."

"I understand, sempai," replied Shinobu with a heartfelt smile. She then turned to Kitsune. "I think the karaoke machine is in the utility closet down the hall."

"Okay then! Let's get some music!" said Kitsune as she headed down the hall. "Naru, you're up first!"

"What?! Why me?" demanded Naru.

"I do not believe I know many songs on our karaoke machine," mused Motoko. "Its selection of traditional Japanese songs is sorely lacking."

"I wanna sing 'VivaRock' song by _Orange Range_!" cheered Su. "That song's cool!"

"Uh, Shinobu?"

"Yes, sempai?"

"Could I get another refill? If I'm going to have to sing, and I know Kitsune will make me once Naru's done, I'd like something to take the edge of first."

"Oh, of course, sempai."

Shinobu quickly filled Keitaro's cup to the brim.

With the party going full tilt time seemed to fly. Kitsune, confidence in her singing skills enhanced by more than a little bit of sake, was belting out a slightly slurred but still enjoyable cover of _Reel Big Fish_'s "Beer" when the clock on the wall caught Motoko's eye.

__

If I get drunk well,

I'll pass out on the floor now, baby

You won't bother me no more

And she said

It's ok, boy, 'cause you know we'll be good friends

And I say, I think I'll have myself a beer

The kendo girl waited until Kitsune was finished before speaking up. "Judging by the time I believe that the evening paper is likely to have arrived by now."

The brought the party antics to a halt as the others turned to look at the clock.

"She's right," said Naru. "Come on. Let's--"

"I'll get it!" interrupted Su. The odd foreign girl dashed towards the door and did two cartwheels before coming to her feet and running out the front door.

"Does anyone know if Su's ever taken gymnastics lessons?" asked an impressed Keitaro.

"Not that I am aware of, Urashima," replied Motoko. "Thought the same thought has crossed my mind."

Just then Su came charging back inside with the newspaper in hand. "It's here! It's here!"

"Well, I guess it's time to check our scores," said Keitaro.

Naru nodded. "Yep. It's zero hour. So which of us is going first?"

Keitaro gave a little smile and did an exaggerated bow in Naru's direction. "Ladies first. I insist."

Naru flashed the ronin a good-natured smirk. "Oh, so now you decide to try and act chivalrous. You jerk."

"Flirt later. Grade tests now," prodded Kitsune.

"I was not flirting with him!"

"Of course you weren't. Now get to gradin'"

Naru rolled her eyes and took the newspaper from Su. She then turned and looked at the others, a mix of embarrassment and worry on her face.

"If it's okay with you guys I'd like to run back to my room and do the grading. Doing it with all of you looking over my shoulder…no offence, but that would really freak me out. Plus, I'd have a room full of people seeing every question I got wrong."

"Perfectly understandable," said Motoko. "We will wait here."

"Good luck, Naru," encouraged Shinobu.

"Break a leg or whatever," added Su.

"Go on and hurry up," prodded Kitsune. "I wanna see how fully you aced this."

It was then that Naru and Keitaro's eyes meet. "You're not #1 in Japan for nothing. Let's see that high score," he said with a smile.

Naru nodded and gave her friends a quick smile before dashing upstairs.

"Naru has worked long and hard. I am certain she will do well," said Motoko. "But what of you, Urashima? How did you fair on today's tests?"

Keitaro scratched his head in a nervous fashion. "It's…really hard to tell until you grade your tests. Naru told me it would be best not to worry about the situation until then."

"Wow, that bad, huh?" quizzed Su.

The ronin stiffened as if he'd been shot through the heart with an arrow.

"I'm sure sempai did his very best!" said Shinobu. "I have full confidence in him."

Keitaro's shoulder's slumped in relief. "Thanks for yet another vote of confidence, Shinobu."

The young girl again started to blush. "I…I…was only telling the truth, sempai."

"Do not forget that we agreed to let you stay here upon the condition that you get yourself into Tokyo U," reminded Motoko, sternly. "If you fail you will be tossed out into the street as punishment for lying to all of us upon first coming here. As you agreed."

Keitaro nodded solemnly. "That was the deal. I haven't forgotten."

With that hanging in the air the group decided to simply wait quietly. Twenty long minutes crawled by before Naru came but down the stairs, her expression neutral.

"Well?" said Keitaro.

Naru grinned widely and gave a thumbs up. "I got 766 points. With a score like that I shouldn't have any problems at all with the real Tokyo U test."

A short round of cheers and applause filled the Hinata House. Once they died down Naru strode over to Keitaro and held up the exam answers. "I'm sure you did fine," she said simply.

Keitaro nodded slightly in acknowledgement, took the sheet and headed upstairs. But halfway up the staircase he stopped and turned to look at the girls. "I just want to say that no matter what I get on this test I'm grateful to all of you. You've cheered me on, helped me learn and given me a kick in the butt when I needed one. So…thanks."

"Enough mushy melodrama!" said Kitsune. "Will ya get on with it already! I'm starting to loose my buzz."

"Can't have that, now can we?" said Keitaro. "All right, I'll be as quick as I can."

The ronin then headed for his room.

Keitaro's hands danced quickly across the calculator. The ronin took another look at the test papers and answer sheet. Satisfied he looked back at the calculator and noticed his hand was trembling over the equal's key.

"Okay, Keitaro. Here it is. Moment of truth time." With that the ronin hit the button to tally his final score.

Moments later the door to Keitaro's room slid open. The ronin started to step outside only to notice the girls had gathered around his door. "What the…"

"We couldn't wait anymore," shrugged Naru. "You've been in here almost half an hour."

"Sorry," shrugged Keitaro. "I was being extra careful to make sure I didn't make a mistake." "Spill already!" demanded Su.

"Yeah, inquiring minds want to know," said Kitsune.

"I got a 600!" exclaimed Keitaro. "The cut off point is about 580! That means I made it!"

"I told you not to worry until you saw your scores," chided Naru. "All that studying paid off for us, Keitaro. We're on step closer to Tokyo U."

"Congratulations, sempai!" cheered Shinobu sincerely.

"Rock on, Keitaro!" shouted Su.

Motoko even gave the ronin a small smile. "I have noticed the diligence with which you have been studying of late. Now that hard work has paid off. Congratulations, Urashima."

"Yeah, congratulations, Keitaro," added Kitsune. The foxgirl then leaned it close and began to run one of her index fingers seductively in a circle on the ronin's chest. "You know, with this you've got another shot at getting into Tokyo U. I think Tokyo U guys are really sexy."  
"That…that's really flattering of you to say," stammered a flustered Keitaro.

"Kitsune!" snapped Naru. "Will you cut that out! You're just--"

"Going to give him filthy ideas," picked up the foxgirl. "Unclench already, Naru. Today's a great day. We should be celebrating!"

"Kitsune is correct," said Motoko, her voice containing a noticeable note of cheer. "We should all be proud of what Naru and Urashima accomplished today. Let us continue our celebration."

"Yeah!" agreed Su. "All that left over food from yesterday isn't going to stay good forever."

"Yes, I have a cake in the refrigerator that I was saving for after we knew your test results," added Shinobu.

Naru huffed but there was clearly a smile on her face. "Looks like we don't have a choice in this. Ready to party, Keitaro?"

Now it was Keitaro's turn to give a thumbs up. "You bet I am. Let's really let loose tonight. Because tomorrow--"

"We have to start studying for the real Tokyo U exam," finished Naru.

"But that's tomorrow," said Kitsune. "For now let's get this party started!"

A chorus of agreement rang out from the other residents of the Hinata House. So began a party that all six of them would remember for many years to come.

To Be Continued…

****

Author's Notes: After far too long a delay I'm back with a new chapter. I'll spare you the details as to why it took me so long to update. Like most people these days I simply lead a busy life.

Last time I updated I was living in Sapporo, Japan. I'm back in the US now and in this chapter I really got to add in a few little nods to my time in Japan. So with that in mind let's get on with it.

__

"Sounds good. How about we go to the convenience store on Nishioka street?"

Nishioka was the part of Sapporo I lived in when I was living in Japan. It's also where the university I was an exchange student was located.

My mom had a hangover for two days and my dad almost drowned when he fell in the river behind the main building.

One thing I picked up while I living in Sapporo was two source books for the _Love Hina _manga. In one of them was a really great map of the whole Hinata House compound and there really is a river just behind the place. You can see it a few times in the manga if you read carefully.

A few minutes later the pair arrived at the nearby outlet of the Lawson convenience store chain.

Lawson is a real convenience store chain in Japan. In a big city you can't go five minutes in a big without seeing one.

__

"How about some chocolate bread?"

Chocolate bread is everywhere in Japan. It's simply chocolate flavored bread with that sometimes has chocolate pudding in the center.

Aquarius and Pocari Sweat are popular sports drinks in Japan. Yes, the word really is supposed to be "sweat". Personally, I like Aquarius the best. It tastes a lot like Gatorade.

__

Say, how about we go to Shin Odori Park?

Odori Park is the main park in Sapporo and a place I spent a lot of time hanging out.

I tacked the "Shin" on because in "Japanese" can mean "new." So since I was taking that idea from the real word to the _Love Hina_ world I thought the "new" seemed to fit. However, the duck pond Naru and Keitaro hang out at is based on another park in Sapporo whose name I can't remember.

Keitaro talking about feeding the ducks with his grandma is something I pulled from my own life. When I was a kid I used to really enjoy going down to a duck pond with my grandpa.

__

"I wanna sing 'VivaRock' song by Orange Range_!" cheered Su. "That song's cool!"_

Indeed that song is cool. It's also the third ending theme to the anime series _Naruto_. I used to hear that song all over the place when I was in Japan. But I didn't know it had anything to do with _Naruto_ until I got back to the US and a friend convinced me to watch the show.

Kitsune's choice of songs to sing it something that just kinda came out of thin air. I wanted to sing something that was both reflective of her and could hint at where things will be going between her and Keitaro.

I was trying to think of the right song and I just happened to remember "Beer." I was pretty pleased with myself on that one since I've been a fan of _Reel Big Fish_ for a couple of years now.

FYI, _Reel Big Fish_ have an anime connection in that they sing the English opening of _Rave Master_.

The main thing I was shooting for in this chapter was to spotlight the dynamic between Keitaro and Naru. I've pretty much been focusing on Keitaro and Kitsune since I started this story. But Naru's the 3rd player in this love triangle so having her spend some time with Keitaro in a casual setting seemed the way to go.

I also wanted to remind people that while he and Kitsune have grown closer Keitaro's still in love with Naru. It was also important here to show both Naru's good and bad sides. I really can't stand Love Hina alternate pair fics where Naru is demonized. So I tried to highlight that while she can be irrational and temperamental Naru can also be an insightful person on a good friend.

Actually, I wanted this chapter to be just about Naru and Keitaro. But when I was finished with the park stuff the chapter still seemed a bit short to me. Since it'd been so long since I updated figured I owed my readers a few more pages. So I decided to take what I originally conceived as Kitsune having a little cameo and the end and turned it into a chance to push her relationship with Keitaro forward a bit. It also gave me the chance for Keitaro, once he was alone, really think about Kitsune and how things have changed between in the last few weeks.

For some reason I had a lot of fun writing the bits where Keitaro was thinking about Kitsune in physical terms. Kitsune's a sexy gal and I think she really his Keitaro on a very visceral level. Having that established and then deepening the emotional relationship between the two really is fun to write.

Another thing I somehow found myself adding was that little chat between Keitaro and Shinobu. I really do think in some ways Shinobu is Keitaro's personal cheerleader. I don't think any of the girls believe in him and want him to succeed as much as she does. So having Keitaro acknowledge that seemed the perfect way to tug at Shinobu's heartstrings a bit more and to set up some thing I have planned for those two later.

That's all I really have to say on chapter. See ya next time.


End file.
